iNeed A Vacation
by notfor9billionDollars
Summary: Things between Sam and Freddie start to heat up while on vacation at the Beach.
1. Vacation Time

**I don't own iCarly or Edward Cullen (ARGH!).**

Carly folded her arms and leaned back against the side of the building.

"Enough!" she yelled.

Sam and Freddie both turned their heads, seeming to have forgotten she was even there. Carly had been listening to the two of them arguing for at least the last half hour, and she was tired of it. They should have been on the road by now, but Spencer was taking a god awful amount of time packing his art supplies, so they were stuck waiting outside Bushwell Plaza.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, her two best friends would not stop yelling at each other.

"Why is he coming again?" asked Sam, who looked just about ready to punch Freddie in the face.

"Because he's our friend, and we don't want to just abandon him here while we go on vacation," replied Carly.

"Yeah," said Freddie confidently, but immediately backed up when Sam shot him an icy glare.

"Come on you guys," Carly reasoned, "Can't you just try to get along for our Vacation?"

They both glanced at each other.

"I don't think so," They said in unison.

"OK, this is ridiculous! You guys are going to at least try to get along, or we're not going at all!" shouted Carly.

Freddie shifted his gaze to the fiery blonde, and she rolled her eyes.

"Fine," said Sam.

"Shake on it." Carly said in a firm tone, because she knew they weren't going to listen any other way.

They both turned to face one another, and Freddie held out his hand.

Sam took it, but made sure Carly could see her crossing her fingers behind her back.

Carly sighed. _This was going to be a long week_ she thought.


	2. Getting There

~Day 1 – Getting There~

*Freddie's POV*

The drive to the beach was slow and painful. Well… painful for me at least. The car we had rented was tiny, and me and Sam were squished close together in the back. By the third time I asked "Are we there yet?" Sam glanced over, flicked me in the head, and then continued to look out the window.

"Ow, that was uncalled for!" I said, rubbing the spot on my head which now throbbed.

"Awww, you want me to kiss it and make it better?" Sam cooed sarcastically.

"Actually yeah that would be great…" I said even more sarcastically, a smile growing on my face.

She proceeded to elbow me in the ribs, which brought on another wave of pain. It was totally worth it though. Sam folded her arms (elbowing me out of the way in the process) and turned back to the window, her cheeks turning a slight shade of pink, but her face keeping an annoyed look. Her hair glistened in the sunlight, and I realized that she's probably the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life. I spaced out, examining other aspects of her that I couldn't resist.

Her brow drew down in confusion, when she saw my reflection in the window looking at her for over 3 minutes straight.

"What?" She said flatly.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and came back to reality. "Wha…? Oh, nothing sorry." I flashed her a smile.

She didn't return it, but instead blurted out, "Carly, we there yet!?"

"No sorry guys, it's going to be at least another half hour."

Sam huffed. "Fine then I'm gonna catch some Z's"

She leaned back about as far as you could lean back in the tiny rental car, and then shut her eyes and in no time she was sleeping.

It was unbelievable how innocent she looked when she was sleeping. It was like she transformed from violent beauty into just sleeping beauty. Her long curly hair fell over her face as she settled into an even breathing pattern. I couldn't help but watch her chest rise and fall with each breath she took. Thank God she wasn't awake to find me staring at her, or she probably would have slapped me. Hard.

I awoke to a punch in my arm.

"Get off me!" yelled Sam.

I got up slightly disoriented, to find that I had leaned over and fell asleep on Sam's shoulder.

"Sorry." I quickly got off her and moved over to the side of the car before she thought to hit me again.

"Sam, relax. It wasn't his fault, he just fell asleep." Carly tried to reason.

Sam rolled her eyes, mumbled a "Whatever" and hopped out of the car.

Carly sighed and got out also.

I was still a little tired, but I got out of the car anyway and saw the large sign at the top of the street.

It read "Palm Tree Resorts" in big letters, and was decorated with little palm trees all around the edge, and surrounded by a semi circle of palm trees. _Creative_, I thought. I closed the car door, and then went to the trunk to help bring in bags. I offered to take Sam's luggage but she just ignored me and kept walking.

When we got in the house Carly ran upstairs first yelling "First dibs on rooms!"

Sam went over to the fridge, but there wasn't anything in it. Before she could say anything, I answered, "We have to buy some food first."

She gave a disgruntled sigh, and then sat down on the couch.

I plopped down next to her and leaned my head back. Surprisingly enough, sitting in a car all day can make you tired. It was about 7:30 pm, and we had been driving for 8 hours with only a few pit stops along the way. Spencer came inside with the last of the luggage, and then looked skeptically up the stairs.

"Is Carly picking rooms?" He asked.

"Yeah, she ran up there a few minutes ago-" But before Sam could finish her sentence Spencer shouted,

"CARLY YOU BETTER NOT TAKE THE MASTER BEDROOM!" as he bounded up the stairs two at a time.

"Aw man!" came a distant cry from Carly on the top floor.

Me and Sam both laughed at their quick sibling spat.

I got up, "Come on we better get rooms before the battling duo take the good ones."

"Yeah, fine."

I offered her my hand, but she instead got up and pushed me back down onto the couch.

"Thanks for that," I muttered as I caught up to her on the stairs.

Her voice was filled with amusement. "No problem," She said, but as she started to take the stairs two at a time she lost her footing and fell.

I caught her almost instantly, cradling her fall as one arm scooped up her knees and the other supported her back. She had her arms hooked around my neck to keep her balance, and our faces were inches apart. I couldn't stop staring at her hypnotizing blue eyes. After a few moments, Carly's voice snapped us both out of our trance.

"Come on you guys, you're taking forever!" She yelled.

Sam must have come back to reality, because she broke eye contact with me and untangled herself from my arms. We both stood up and she turned around to walk up the stairs again, but before she started walking again, she looked back down at my feet.

"Uh… Thanks" She said, struggling to get words out.

"Yeah sure… No problem." I said still transfixed by her crystal clear blue eyes.

Her cheeks began to flush, and she turned quickly, tossing her blonde hair all around her shoulders as she started to walk up the stairs again.

I stayed unnaturally close behind her, partly hoping she would lose her balance again.


	3. Morning After

Chapter 3

*Sam's POV*

Sam sighed wearily as she pulled on her pajama top and crawled lazily into bed.

It had been a long day, what with driving for 8 hours, and then almost falling down the stairs only to be 'saved' by a tech geek.

"How embarrassing," she muttered to herself.

And when did he get so strong? Last year he could barely lift his tripod, and now he was catching her in his arms like he was what… Superman?

"Ugh." She shoved her head into a pillow_. And she had hung on to him for an unnecessary amount of time which didn't help at all, _she thought as she reflected back on that moment.

She mentally scolded herself for now being indebted to Freddie, of all people. After a while she drifted off into sleep not wanting to think about it anymore.

A few hours into the night, she felt a nudge on her arm.

Whoever this was, it better be a million dollars and a lifetime supply of ham they're offering, or there was no way she was going to even think about getting out of bed.

She groaned inwardly as the person nudged her again, slightly harder this time.

"Go away." She mumbled, annoyed that she was going to have to talk now too.

"Come on Sam, wake up." The voice whispered, pleadingly.

When she realized who had spoken, she let out a disgruntled sigh.

"What do you want Freddie." She said as more of a statement instead of a question.

His voice brightened, only making her more annoyed. "Oh good you're up."

She chose not to reply to that, and instead waited for him spill the reason he was even up at this ungodly hour, even more so, bothering her.

"I'm bored." Was all he said.

She squinted her eyes open to see Freddie, who had sat down at the edge of her bed and was now looking at her like a dog begging for a bone.

She let out another annoyed breath, and then sat up on her bed, rubbing her eyes to get the sleep out.

"So? What do you want me to do?"

"Help me find something to do. Please." He exaggerated on the last word.

"Well," said Sam trying not to be completely rude, "there's this new thing called sleep."

Freddie hung his head in disappointment.

"All the cool kids are doing it…!" She said with fake enthusiasm, as she stuck her thumbs up in the air.

He continued to hang his head, but looked up at her pathetically from under his eyebrows.

"Come on, pleeease… I saved your life, it's the least you could do." He said as a smile grew on his lips.

"OH my god!" Sam whisper/yelled. "I can't believe you're actually using that against me!"

"Is it working?" He asked, his smile widening.

His dark brown eyes caught some moonlight, making her lose her train of thought for a few seconds.

She bit her lip and glanced at the clock. 2:15. This was a fight she was not even in the mood to start.

"Fine," She said, cursing her lack of a strong will sometimes.

Freddie jumped off the bed and mouthed a, "Yes!" as he made a victory fist in the air.

Sam rolled her eyes as Freddie grabbed her hand and started dragging her downstairs.

She woke up with a massive headache from lack of sleep. She used one of her hands to prop herself up, but retracted immediately when she felt someone under her. When she looked down and saw Freddie, she almost screamed. However, Carly came down the stairs, her eyes widening in shock when she saw the two of them.

Sam jumped off Freddie so fast that she heart him groan from the force of being pushed into the back of the couch.

"It is _so_ not what it looks like." Sam said defensively, but still not being able to hide the blush creeping onto her face.

Carly still had a 'did I just fall into an alternate universe' look on her face, but she shook it off.

"Were you just sleeping on Freddie?" She asked, her curiosity suddenly sparked to life.

In her side vision, Sam could see Freddie sit up on the couch and rub his eyes. She tried to look at anything but Carly as the awkward silence grew longer and longer.

"Yeah but… I mean we were just-" She looked around trying to come up with a good excuse. "Drunk?" She tried.

"On what, three games of scrabble and watching T.V.?" Freddie laughed.

Keeping a straight face, Sam rammed her heel into his foot causing him to groan momentarily, but he got the message to shut up.

"Look, OK," Sam said, her ideas wearing thin, "I just _happened_ to fall asleep on the couch, and Freddie just _happened_ to be there, so we _happened_ to fall asleep together, nothing more." Sam's brow drew down as she realized how incredibly stupid her own story sounded. That statement was just one _'happened'_ short of a lie.

"Whatever you saayyy… "Carly taunted, walking into the kitchen to pour herself some cereal.

Oh great, Sam thought. That was going to come back to bite her in the ass she just knew it.

In the background, Sam could hear Spencer singing some song about brushing his teeth.

Freddie stood up behind her and scratched the back of his head. Before he had time to say anything to her she quickly went up to her room to get changed.

Too many thoughts cluttered her brain as she paced around in her room. She didn't get it. She hated Freddie. Like, _really _hated him. He was like a fly on a sugar rush and she didn't have the swatter. She hated the way his dorky smile made her stomach flip, or the way he could get her to forget what she's about to say… as she's saying it! She hated him so much that she… slept with him? She shuddered at the thought, and just thanked god that they were both clothed, and that sleeping was all they did. But the worst thing, the thing she hated about Freddie above all else, was how he was making her go C.R.A.Z.Y.

She ran her fingers through her hair, and then gave out an exasperated breath. She went over to her bed, stuffed her face into a pillow, and screamed at the top of her lungs.

After a few seconds she plopped on to her back, staring at the ceiling. She closed her eyes and her breathing calmed down, allowing her to relax for a few savory moments. She took a deep breath, trying to exhale what just took place, and then hopped off her bed and started plowing through her bags for her bathing suit. Come on Sam, she thought as she rummaged through piles of clothing, pull it together. Nothing was going to ruin the first day of vacation for her. At least… that's what she hoped.


	4. Fun in the Sun?

**Chapter 4**

**Hey guys, I know this is kind of a short chapter, but hopefully you like it! It's leading up to this two part chapter I have coming up where they all go to a Beach Party, and thing's get pretty hectic. I'm writing as fast as I can but keep in mind… I'm trying to have a life as well. ;)**

*Carly's POV*

Carly laughed as her big brother splashed more water at her.

"Ok, OK I surrender!" She managed to get out between giggles.

Spencer threw both his fists up in the air victoriously, and then made a straight face and looked her right in the eye. "Never underestimate the Ocean King."

Carly shook her head. "Surrre…."

As Spencer started to do a bad version of the backstroke, Carly looked over to see if she could spot Freddie and Sam. They were swimming in the water earlier, but Sam tried to dunk Freddie under and keep him there, so Carly ordered her to go sit under the umbrella. A few minutes later Freddie got out too, claiming to be waterlogged.

Carly craned her neck and eventually spotted the two of them sitting under the umbrella Spencer had set up that morning.

Sam was facing Freddie, seeming to be arguing while Freddie held something up in the air. He smiled as Sam grabbed for it and missed, making her all the more irritated.

Carly squinted to see what Freddie was holding, and her eyes widened as she realized it was Sam's phone. What was he trying to do, get sent to the hospital?

"Awww!" Carly whined. "And they were doing so well…"

"What's wrong kiddo?" Spencer had just surfaced after pretending to be a shark.

"Nothing. I'll be right back, okay?"

Spencer nodded as Carly jumped and flailed her way over the next wave, and then forced her feet through water until she reached dry sand. A she got closer to their umbrella set up, Sam and Freddie's argument became more pronounced.

"Stop being so annoying, and just give me my phone back!"

Carly could tell Sam's patience was thinning.

"Not until you apologize for almost trying to _drown_ me!" Freddie yelled.

"O.K., I'll apologize…"

Freddie waited patiently for a few seconds.

"In your dreams!" Sam finished with a vengeance.

Carly sighed.

Sometimes she just wished her friends would get along. What where they fighting about anyway? It had gotten to the point where Carly thought back to the very first moment they had all decided to do iCarly, and couldn't even remember why they had started to be so mean to each other in the first place.

Freddie smirked. "Funny you should mention dreams actually… seeing as I didn't have any last night because of your _snoring_." He looked defiantly over at Sam, knowing what he said was bound to touch a nerve.

Sam's jaw dropped. "I do not!" she shouted, her face turning a light shade of pink.

"You also talk in your sleep. A Lot," Freddie continued. "You wouldn't believe some of things you said while you were sleeping with me." His smile grew as Sam's blush became more noticeable.

I swear it was like he enjoyed getting beat down by Sam.

And get beat down he did.

Sam brought her hand around and whacked him on the back of his head, causing him to yell "Ow!" and drop the phone in the process. She grabbed it before Freddie had time to react and then stood up.

"Idiot," she muttered, rolling her eyes. Sam grabbed her beach bag and her towel, and then left not noticing Carly standing a short distance away.

Well at least that was better than what Carly thought Sam was going to do. Compared to that, Freddie got off easy.

Carly finally walked up closer, making herself known to the remains of what just occurred.

"Are you okay?" She asked, not really putting much emotion into it.

"Just great." Freddie replied sarcastically. "I got an aching head, and a hardcore blonde who probably wants to bury me alive right now."

"You shouldn't have taken her phone."

"Oh come on she tried to drown me! Besides what's the big deal all I did was take her phone for like three minutes." He said, looking down at the ground and still rubbing the spot on the back of his head where Sam had hit him.

"Well what was all that crap about her sleeping habits?" Carly was getting a little annoyed now.

Freddie picked at a strand on his shorts. "I dunno…" He mumbled.

Carly stood up straight, and gave Freddie a hard look. "Fine, but you're going to apologize."

"What! Why should I apologize to her--?"

"Freddie!" Carly yelled as loud as she could without drawing attention. "You're going to apologize to Sam because you two are my best friends, and it's just ridiculous that you haven't settled your differences after a whole year of working together! I'm tired of trying to patch things up between guys, so now you're going to do it yourselves or we're stopping iCarly!"

Freddie was taken aback by Carly's threat, but he got up without complaint.

"Alright, relax. I'll go say I'm sorry." He said apologetically. He grabbed his bag and towel, and headed out in the same direction Sam did.

Carly plopped down in a chair and reached for her drink. With her other hand she pinched the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb. She felt pretty drained, as she always did after dealing with one of Sam and Freddie's "fights". She took a few sips of her slurpie, and watched the waves as they rolled lazily onto shore.

She had known it was going to be a long week, but she hoped that Freddie apologizing to Sam would be enough to get them to at least be civil to each other.


	5. Foreplay

Chapter 5

**hey guys, srry another kind of short chapter, but like i said the really big two part chapter is coming up, and thank GOD the weekend is here so i can actually write something of a significant amount! hope you like :)**

*Freddie's POV*

OK, well apologizing to Sam didn't go well at all.

When Freddie got back to the house after Carly had forced him to go say sorry, he had looked around the house for Sam but couldn't find her. Eventually he heard her in the bathroom and opened the door assuming she was brushing her hair or something. However, she was actually taking off her bikini and… well… let's just say she was more mad now than she had been before. Freddie had frozen in shock when he saw her, but Sam covered herself with one arm and shoved him out with the other, then slammed the door in his face. His jaw was hanging open, but he snapped it shut and regained composure.

He apologized over and over but Sam didn't respond, and only came out of the bathroom when Freddie had finally retreated to his room.

So now here he was, getting ready for some dumb party that Carly had begged them to go with her too. It was a beach party from 6:00 to midnight that was going to be filled with teenagers their age. At first he wasn't really into it, especially since Sam was so mad that one more wrong move and he could say goodbye to his face. But he eventually shrugged it off, and thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Letting out a sigh, he buttoned up his shirt, and then loosely tied a black tie around his neck. He rolled the sleeves on his white collared shirt up to his elbows, and then brushed off his black pants taking a good look at himself in the mirror. At first he thought he looked a little to formal, so he unbuttoned one of the buttons on his shirt, loosened his tie some more, and then messed up his hair a little. _Great, now I look like a drunk rich kid stumbling out to his car_, Freddie thought_. Oh well, nobody's gonna care anyway_. He went over to his dresser and picked up a small bottle of cologne. Freddie never really bothered to use it, but decided tonight was a special occasion, so he sprayed it lightly on his shirt and then set it down again.

After one last look in the mirror, he descended the stairs to find Spencer sitting on the couch.

"What's up Spence?" Freddie walked past the couch to grab a root beer from the fridge.

"Hah, I could ask you the same thing little man. How'd apologizing to Sam go?"

Freddie scratched the back of his head uncomfortably, remembering Sam's scarlet face as she pushed him out of the bathroom.

"Not so well." He replied truthfully, then walked over and plopped down next to Spencer, leaning his head back against the couch.

"Eh that's alright Freddo," said Spencer, clapping Freddie on the shoulder. "She'll come around."

Freddie continued to stare at the ceiling. "I hope you're right." He said to himself.

After what seemed like 20 minutes, they heard Carly's footsteps coming down, but she stopped before she reached the floor. Freddie examined her pink sundress with a floral pattern and flip flops. She did look pretty he had to admit. Carly looked up to the top of the stairs and placed a hand on her hip.

"Come on Sam, you look amazing!" She yelled up the stairs.

"Yeah well I feel like a Barbie!"Came Sam's voice from up in her room.

"Get down here!" Carly shouted, pointing to the bottom of the staircase.

Freddie heard Sam huff in defeat, and then slowly start walking downstairs. After a few seconds, she was finally visible to everyone.

Freddie almost choked as he took a sip of root beer.

Sam was wearing a strapless black dress that fell down to just above her knees, paired with black high heels. There was a white flower pinned in the left side of her curly blonde hair, letting the rest of it fall out around her shoulders. After seeing Freddie's reaction, she self-consciously folded her arms and looked back at Carly.

"Maybe I should go change-" She started, but Freddie cut her off.

"No!"

Everyone looked startled as Freddie got up and awkwardly looked around, realizing he had just said that out loud.

"I mean… you look amazing." He stared down at the floor, and after a few seconds hesitantly looked up at Sam. He was relieved to see that she had tried to suppress a smile, but couldn't, and ended up with a half smile that she partially hid.

She fiddled with a part of her dress. "Thanks." She mumbled.

Freddie let out the breath he had been holding in, and sat down quickly, trying to avoid the stares he was getting from Spencer and Carly.

Spencer broke the silence. "Well OK then! You guys should get going or else you'll be late!" He spurted, grabbing Freddie off the couch and shooing the three of them out the door. _Probably to avoid more of the teenage hormones_, Freddie thought.

"Ok," Carly said, half struggling against her brother's incessant pushes for them to leave, "Well we'll be back at around 12:30, got it?" Spencer nodded his head impatiently, as Carly continued to spit directions at him, as to how take care of everything while they were away.

Freddie could barely hear what they were saying. He was too busy looking the blond headed angel who stood in the last rays of sunshine, with her hand on her hip, tapping her foot impatiently.

Freddie found himself once again transfixed by her blue eyes as they looked off into the distance. When Carly finally said his name, it was almost painful to have to tear his eyes off her.

"What?" he asked, a little annoyed.

"Ready to go?" Carly pulled her purse up onto her shoulder and looked at him expectantly.

"Yup. Let's do it."

Carly moved passed Sam, and began walking in the direction of the party. Freddie started to do the same, but Sam stopped him by placing a hand on his chest, and looked defiantly into his eyes.

"Stare at me again, and I'll break both your arms."

"I look forward to it." Freddie smiled as she rolled her eyes in annoyance. He reached up to take her hand off his chest, but snapped back when he touched her. "Ouch!" He said, while he shook his hand as if he had gotten burned. "Someone's on _fire_ today." He said sarcastically, as her face grew slightly red. She scowled at him and then walked away, leaving the sound of her high heels echoing in Freddie's head.

He chuckled. Man was it easy to throw that girl off her game. He slipped his hands into his pockets, and then easily caught up to walk behind Sam to the party. He watched as her blonde hair swayed gently with each step she took.

Maybe this party won't be so bad after all.


	6. The Party Part 1

**Chapter 6 –The Party (Part 1)**

*Freddie's POV*

Freddie watched as yet another brainless surfer-dude stumbled up to Sam with the classic "have I seen you somewhere before?" line. Sam was usually kind of choosy when it came to boys, but at this party it was like anyone who started talking to her was her prince charming. _Bleh._ Freddie had talked to a few girls, but none of them kept him interested long enough for him to stop thinking about Sam. Freddie was kind of into the party for a little, but Carly was dancing with four different guys, and Sam couldn't care less about anyone but Australian-model wannabee over there, so now he stood off by the punch table with the other rejects.

A few hours ago it got dark, so everyone decided to make a bonfire. _Great idea, let's have a bunch of wasted beach partiers set this place on fire. _Freddie rolled his eyes, but no one was going to stop them, and now you could see the smoke from their fire for at least a mile. The music was blasting, so there was almost no way you could hear anybody unless you yelled. Somehow the loser who was chatting up Sam seemed to get his point across by talking into her ear. She giggled, and Freddie clenched his teeth slightly, unable to hide his jealousy.

Suddenly, this girl about Carly's height stumbled over and shyly looked up at Freddie. She was giggling uncontrollably, and holding her hands behind her back. _Oh god, now he was going to have turn down another offer to dance._ He set his drink down and stood up straight, smiling at her, but preparing himself to decline her offer. She finally gained some self-control, and then looked up at him again with a smile on her face.

"Do you… um want to… dance?" Her eyes darted to him and then back to the floor a few times. He felt kind of bad for her; she didn't look like she had many friends. He opened his mouth to answer, but in the corner of his eye he saw Sam drag that random blonde-headed guy into the dance area and start dancing with him. His jealousy sparked to life.

"Yeah, sure." He smiled, trying to get more into it.

The girls eyes widened, and she froze, probably wondering if he was joking or not.

She hesitated for a few moments. "R-Really?"

"Why not?" Freddie took her hand and let her out onto the dance floor, not taking his eyes of Sam the whole time.

It wasn't till he was out there, that he realized that he really couldn't dance to save his life. But thankfully he had been to a few parties, and just went with the flow of the music. The girl he was dancing with, however, _really_ didn't know how to dance and practically just stood there while swaying side to side awkwardly.

Freddie tried to pretend like he was having a good time dancing with this random girl, but whenever she looked away he would steal a glance at Sam. And every time he looked over, Sam and that guy were dancing closer and closer. Soon enough, she and that guy were so close that if Sam sneezed they would bump their heads.

"Who is she?" The girl he had been dancing with said, snapping him out of his thoughts. She was now staring at him, and he felt his face flush a little.

"Who is who?" Freddie tried to play it cool. He didn't think she had noticed him looking at Sam.

She raised an eyebrow. "The blonde girl you keep looking at."

Freddie shook his head slowly, still trying to pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about until she pointed directly at Sam.

"Oh… uh that's just my friend…" He finished pathetically.

"Girlfriend?"

"No!" Freddie held up his hands in defense. "Well she is a girl, and she is my friend… but she's not my girlfriend." His face started turning a little pink.

"Uh-huh. Sure." The girl folded her arms. "That's funny, I don't stare at my "friends that are boys" nearly that much."

Freddie put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor as he moved some sand around with his foot. "Yeah… sorry about that."

He was really surprised that she was even talking. A few minutes ago she was too shy to even look at him, and now it was the other way around.

"It's ok." She laughed at his reaction. "Look my name's Kayla. You wanna go talk somewhere, I'm not really into this whole dancing scene."

Freddie looked up at her for a second, and was actually relieved. Finally there was someone at the party who was worth talking to. "Yes!" he yelled over the blaring music.

He nodded in agreement as Kayla pointed to a wooden table off in the middle of the food area. They walked over and sat down, and then she started to bombard him with questions. What his name was, what school he went to, where he was staying, etc. After a while, Freddie felt like he was being interrogated. Other than that though, Kayla was an overall interesting person. She had a funny way of getting to the heart of things before you could realize, which Freddie didn't mind so much. Although when she started to ask him about Sam, he tried dodging as many questions as he could.

"How long have you known Carly and Sam?" Kayla asked as she leaned back against her chair.

Freddie took a sip of his drink and then put his feet up on the table in front of them. "Oh I don't know, like a year and a half or so? Maybe longer."

"Wow! And you've kept you're feelings for Sam a secret for _that long_?"

Freddie's head snapped up and she gave him a look.

"Come on, if you're going to stare at her the whole time, you can at least be honest about it."

He sighed, and then rested his head against his seat again, not even having the energy to fight her statement. She was right, so what did it matter?

"Pretty much." He moved his cup around in circles, making the last of the punch swish around.

Kayla sat up a little. "Why don't you just tell her how you feel?"

"Because she would probably kill me."

They started laughing, but Freddie's laughter died out.

"I'm not entirely joking…" He said, setting his drink down and rubbing the temples on his head.

Kayla was still partially laughing, but she set her drink down too, and looked at Freddie with a smile.

"Come on! Just tell her how you feel, what's the worst that could happen?"

Freddie shuddered as a brief thought of Sam feeding him to a pool of sharks came to mind. He let out another sigh, and then ran his fingers through his hair. Kayla stood up and grabbed his arms, pulling him up with her. She turned him around, and then began pushing him towards the crowd again. Towards Sam.

"No way." He groaned, as he tried weakly to get out of Kayla's grip.

"Yeah you're right. There's **no way** you're getting out of this." She tightened her grip on his arms, and pushed him harder towards Sam.

Eventually he could fight Kayla no longer, and soon enough he was standing ten feet from Sam, who was still talking to BSG (Blonde Surfer Guy). He turned around one more time, and pathetically searched for some escape around Kayla.

"Come on…" He whined, "I don't want to do this!" He knew he sounded like a four-year-old, but couldn't help it.

"Too bad." Kayla said firmly, as she stood there with her arms folded.

Freddie knew there was no way he was going to escape, so he turned back to Sam, squared his shoulders, and walked forward.

The closer he got to her, the more Freddie could picture Sam laughing in his face once he told her how he felt. He finally reached her though, and gently tapped on her shoulder.

Sam jumped around to face him, and then let out a deep breath when she saw it was Freddie.

"Jesus Freddie! You scared the living crap out of me!" She said, holding a hand to her chest to calm herself down.

"Sorry." He muttered. _Great, it's only been two seconds and already she hates me._ "Listen, can I talk to you?"

Sam looked at him like she was about to start laughing. "Why would I want to talk to the _King_ of Dorks!?" she held out an arm introducing him, and the people around her started laughing. Freddie gulped as a small crowd was began to develop.

"Please…" Freddie begged, hoping that she wouldn't make a scene out of this.

"Oh there you go again!" Sam shook her head in boredom. "Begging like a little girl… 'Oh please Sam, Sam don't hurt me, blah blah blah…" More people began to laugh and the crowd thickened.

Freddie looked at her in confusion, wondering why she was picking on him now of all times.

"That's Freddie Benson for you ladies! Mama's boy of the year! He never had a dad, because even his father thought he was too much of a girl. And now his mom tags him along by a leash! NO _wonder_ he can never get a girlfriend!" Now the whole crowd was laughing, even some people walking by the party. Sam stood at the head of it all, with a victorious smile on her face.

Freddie's face flushed, and he started to walk away as Sam kept going. "Yeah that's right, just go home and cry on the phone to your mom. She's probably the only girl who will ever love you anyway!" Freddie bit his lip as the laughter increased.

He felt like he had just been punched in the stomach. Sam laughed with everyone else, and he couldn't even bring himself to look at her. He glanced briefly around trying to spot Carly, but she was nowhere in sight, so he continued to flee from the party.

He felt a hand on his shoulder stopping him, and looked up to see Kayla who looked sad and confused at the same time.

"What happened?" She sounded baffled that Sam would bash him like that, but for Freddie it was nothing new.

He shrugged her hand off. "Nothing that hasn't happened before." He muttered, walking to the sidewalk. After he had gotten out of sight of the party, he leaned against the side of a building, trying to calm down_. Why had Sam acted that way? I mean it wasn't abnormal for her to act that way, but usually she would be mean after he had done something to annoy her. This time she just overreacted for no reason at all._ Freddie put his hands in his pockets, unable to come up with any sufficient answers, and then slumped down as he made his way back to the house.


	7. The Party Part 2

Chapter 7 – The Party (Part 2)

*Sam's POV*

Sam's laughter died out as she realized Freddie had really left from the party. The sound of everyone else's laughter was drowning her thoughts, making it hard for her to concentrate on what had just happened. She looked around for Freddie, momentarily confused until she heard someone yell her name.

"Sam!" Carly's distraught voice could be heard throughout everyone else's, and she came and stared at Sam in complete disbelief.

"What in the world did you say that for!?"

Sam was feeling a little bad now, but would never say it out loud. She shook her head at Carly and the scoffed.

"What? I just told Freddie that he needs to toughen up a bit. Relax he'll get over it, we're all friends right?" Sam said as she nudged Carly playfully in the arm.

"No, he won't get over it!" Carly brushed Sam's hand away in annoyance. Sam started to feel uncomfortable the more serious Carly got about the situation.

"I mean, did you have to bring Mr. Benson into it? You know how broken up Freddie was when he left!"

The fun Sam was having from insulting Freddie was slowly being sucked away, and suddenly wanted to be anywhere but here. She hadn't meant to drive Freddie away like that. Usually he put up with most of her comments, but lately he had been acting sort of weird.

Sam sighed and handed Carly her drink.

"Fine," she said, coming back to reality, "If it's that important to you, I'll go apologize to the dweeb, what's the big?"

Carly folded her arms in disappointment. Sam recognized that look. It was a look that her mom had given her oh so many times before.

"That's right, you _will_ apologize to him. And I've said it to Freddie, but I'll say it again. If you guys can't find some way to work this relationship" she put air quotes around 'relationship', "issue out, then we're stopping iCarly for good. " There was a dead seriousness in her voice, and Sam guessed that there was no way she was getting out of this. She ruffled her hair out a bit and then held up her hands in a fake surrender, as she walked towards the end of the beach.

"Alright I get it." She turned around, but before she even reached the sidewalk, a brunette about the same height as Carly stepped in her way.

"That was really low, what you did to him." The girl folded her arms and waited for a reply.

"Yeah well he's my friend I'm sure he's fine by now." Sam said trying to move past the girl, but she stepped in her way again.

"You know Freddie was trying to tell you –" She stopped herself as if she was going to give away the winning lottery combination, but then cleared her throat and finished with, "something really important."

Sam shrugged. "So?"

"So the least you could do is not be a complete biotch for like ten seconds, so you can hear what he has to say!"

"OK, relax _Bambi_. Who asked you anyway?" Sam was starting to get annoyed with this random girl she had never met trying to tell her what to do. She wasn't in the mood to fight though, so she pushed passed her and continued walking.

She heard the girl behind her scoff, and walk in the opposite direction. Thank god Sam felt a little bad about what she did to Freddie, or else she probably would have turned around and kicked that girl with the back of her heel. She let out a breath to cool down, and then made her way slowly back to the house.

* * *

When Sam entered the house, she heard the sound of the T.V. on. She peered around the corner and saw Spencer, fast asleep on the couch. _Phew_, Sam thought. _Hopefully he wouldn't hear anything, just in case this apology turned into another fight._

Sam rounded the corner to the stairs, and made her way up to Freddie's room. It was the one on the far left, secluded from everyone else's because they had flipped a coin and Sam had won the room near Carly and Spencer's. She smiled to herself, remembering Freddie's face when he lost. It was like a two-year-old who just got his favorite candy taken away.

Sam stood in front of Freddie's door for a few minutes, trying to beat down her pride so she could walk in and say sorry. After a while of working up her confidence, she gave a barely audible knock on the door, and it nudged open slightly without any inside help. Sam pushed the door open a little more and glanced inside.

Freddie sat on the floor looking out the window, his tie lay by his side. He didn't turn at the sound of Sam coming in.

"Your blonde-headed demon wants to talk to you..." She said meekly. Sam closed the door behind her, and then sat down next to Freddie, looking down at the floor.

Freddie half-smiled, but it vanished almost immediately. "And what does she want to say?"

"That she is really sorry for what she said back at the party..." Sam whispered, picking at a loose string on her dress. "And that she wishes she could take it back?"

It was silent for a few moments, and then Freddie turned to look at her. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she waited for him to say something.

"I had this whole speech prepared, but now I can't remember a single word." He smiled and Sam let out a breath of relief, and then shrugged.

"I have that effect on people." She said with a smile.

"Apology accepted."

"Was it any good? Your speech I mean."Sam asked suddenly curious.

His grin widened. "You would have been impressed."

Sam let out a small laugh, and the tension seemed to be gone. She turned around and sat with her back to the windowsill, facing Freddie. He was looking out the window again, so Sam took the few seconds to yawn and rub some of the sleep out of her eyes. Even though she hadn't stayed out that late, she was still unusually tired.

When she opened her eyes again, Freddie was staring at her. His gaze was penetrating, and she wanted to look away but for some reason couldn't. He continued to weaken her with his gaze as he leaned forward a little, bringing his hand up to brush the side of her face. Sam was leaning away as much as she could, but found herself pressed up against the wall. _Great idea Sam, sitting against the wall! _She mentally scolded herself, but Freddie moved in closer and her breathing quickened.

"What are you--" She whispered, but Freddie was so close that she could feel the heat from his warm breath crawling all over her skin. Before she could say anything else, he closed the distance between their faces, tilting her head up to meet his. _Now this is just ridiculous. Wasn't this the Freddie who hated her? More importantly, didn't she hate him??_ Her mind was cluttered as Freddie deepened the kiss, moving in to gain more access. One of his hands slipped down to her waist, shocking her back to reality. _Ok, hold up. _

"Whoa whoa whoa..." Sam breathed, gently pushing Freddie away.

She stood up and started pacing the room, running her fingers through her hair a few times. "_What_ are you doing!?"

Freddie stood up and walked closer to her. "I thought you of all people would recognize a kiss when you saw it." He smiled as he leaned down to her, and began leaving a sucking kiss on her neck. Sam could barely remember her name, let alone the argument she had planned.

Freddie continued, giving Sam time to try and weigh out options in her head such as: _Would it be so bad just to keep going for a little? I mean we were both 17 so everything is legal! Ugh but it's Freddie Benson..._ She was about speak up until she felt Freddie lightly drag his teeth down to her collar-bone, sending jolts of electricity throughout her body.

Reason was slowly evaporation from Sam's mind, as she brought his face back up to meet hers, and began kissing him almost urgently. Freddie seemed surprised at first, but responded well and soon their tongues were battling for control over one another. Sam suddenly felt him lift her up and lay her down on the bed, his large frame radiating heat all the way down to her core. She kissed him until she was dizzy, and then kissed him some more. Her fingers ran through his hair as he left a trail of wet kisses down her neck. Soon Sam's reasoning changed from 'Why aren't I stopping this' to 'Why is he slowing down'.

Freddie pulled off his shirt, and her hands ran over the smooth valley's of his chest. He had really filled out since last year. He looked at her seriously, and Sam's brow drew down in confusion.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Freddie raised his eyebrows trying to be polite, but Sam was slightly annoyed that he had stopped.

Her breathing was so fast that she could barely speak, so she nodded in consent, hoping that she wouldn't regret this later. Freddie smiled, and then leaned down and kissed her again, more passionately this time. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her heart pounding high in her chest with excitement and tension. Sam gripped the back of his neck with hot need, and the last thought she could form in her mind was that this was a night she was _never_ going to forget.


	8. Wake Up Call

**Chapter 8 – Wake Up Call**

*Sam's POV*

Sam's eyes flew open at the sound of a seagull outside their window. She groaned inwardly at how tired she was, but then again she hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

Propping herself up on an elbow, Sam rubbed her head feeling a little disoriented. Freddie lay right by her side, with his arm loosely draped around her waist. She stayed still for a few seconds, closing her eyes and feeling his chest move with each slow breath he took. The feel of his body pressed up against her back was making her skin crawl.

Freddie Benson.

Now how did this happen? She was contemplating all of the scenarios, such as he tricked her into doing it, or he drugged her, or maybe even hypnotism. She sighed as she realized the fact, which was she was here because she wanted to be here. He hadn't done anything to try and persuade her. But man, if Spencer and Carly found out-

Sam's eyes shot back open at that. _Crap!_ She thought. _Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap…_ Sam lifted Freddie's arm of her waist, and gently sat up on the bed trying not to make too much noise. She stood up as quietly as she could, but immediately regretted it because she was aching all over. Standing up was like driving a knife through all the muscles in her body. Sam walked in an awkward position over to the bathroom and opened the door, looking at herself in the mirror. She wasn't surprised to see that her reflection looked the same way she felt, but her face flushed at how disheveled she was.

The white flower that had held her hair back was gone, probably never to be found, and her silky blonde hair was now a tangled mess. She tried to smooth some of it down, but as she pulled it back she revealed a dark circular mark midway down her neck._ When did I get _That_? _Was all that was running through her mind. Sam heard a small noise come from the bedroom, and her heart skipped a beat. Time to get out of here. She opened the door to get out of the bathroom, and immediately ran into Freddie. She almost screamed, but wasn't able to because Freddie leaned down to kiss her.

Sam couldn't think as Freddie wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in closer. She slowly hooked one of her arms around his neck, almost falling back into bed with him. Almost.

She pulled away, and Freddie looked at her in confusion.

"Remember Spencer and Carly are in this house too?"

He pouted his face in disappointment, and she scowled at him.

"Come on," She said, "How in the name of God would we explain this?" Sam gestured at the two of them, and Freddie hung his head.

"I guess you're right."

Sam looked around for her dress and found it hanging on the corner of a dresser. She grabbed her shoes and headed for the door, but Freddie stopped her.

"Would you be wanting this back?" He held up a pair of black, lacey underwear, and Sam could feel her face heat up.

She was too ashamed to look at him, but in her peripheral she could see him smiling. Her heart was pounding as she walked over and grabbed them from him, and then strode out of there, trying to keep some of her dignity.

Sam peered down the stairs and saw Carly and Spencer asleep on the couch, apparently having fallen asleep watching T.V. She let out a breath of relief, though still praying that they had heard nothing. As far as she was concerned, it was _never_ happening again. She walked into her room and grabbed a towel, getting ready for a shower. She looked in her mirror, and ran her fingers over the hickie that was planted on her neck. She shivered as she remembered Freddie's lips all over her. _So much for an AV dork_, she thought.


	9. Time For Breakfast

**Chapter 9 – Our Lips Are Sealed**

*Freddie's POV*

"Ow!" Freddie held out his tongue to look in the mirror and saw that it had a small cut near the back. He gently touched hit with his finger and it brought out another wave of pain so he left it alone. _Dang that girl was vicious in bed, _Freddie thought, as he pressed his hand up against the side of his cheek.

He paced in his room, looking for his shirt. Ever since last night he was trying to do anything to get his mind off of Sam. It was like she was now permanently engraved in his memory. He literally could not think of anything else. Her eyes, her hair, her smile, the touch of her skin…

Wasn't there something he could do (besides repeatedly banging his head into a wall) that would get him to stop thinking about Sam? He thought for a moment and then decided that there wasn't, so he walked over to the wall and begin hitting his head against it. A few minutes later, Carly walked in.

"Uhhh…. What are you doing?"Carly folded her arms in confusion, and Freddie rubbed his head.

"Nothing I just…" He glanced over Carly's shoulder and saw Sam wrapped in a towel, hair dripping wet, making her way back to her room.

"…really need to clear my head."

Freddie continued to rub his head pathetically. Carly raised her eyebrow, and said, "O….K?" as she backed out of his room. He heard her quickly go down the stairs and sighed. He probably looked insane to Carly.

He grabbed his flip flops, and then walked downstairs to see what was happening for breakfast. Carly and Spencer were already there, sitting at the counter stools, and staring at the screen of the laptop.

"Hey Freddo, we're just looking up good places to go for breakfast. You ready to go?" Spencer asked as he mashed sunscreen all over his already pale face.

Freddie nodded as he sat down at one of the table chairs, too tired to really participate in anything. He yawned and rubbed some of the sleep out of his eyes, when Carly looked up at him.

"Hey, where's Sam?"

Freddie's head snapped up. "I don't know." He answered way too quickly. Carly wore a confused expression and Freddie cleared his throat.

"I mean… Why should I know?" His voice cracked a little and his face began to flush.

"Be-cause you were up there like… two seconds ago?"

Freddie began to twiddle his thumbs at how uncomfortable he had just made this situation. "Right, sorry."

Carly continued to wait for an answer, but Freddie kept staring at his thumbs so she eventually gave up.

"Oh hey guys." As if hearing their conversation, Sam came downstairs and stopped when she saw three faces giving her blank expressions.

"What?" She shifted her gaze from face to face.

Carly was the first to break the silence. "You're wearing a turtle-neck."

Sam stood still. "So, what's the problem?"

"It's 94 degrees outside, and we're at the beach."

There was a long awkward silence as Sam uncomfortably shifted her posture, and then spoke up.

"You're point?" She gave the most 'I'm a rebel' glare she could manage.

Carly shook her head passively, as Freddie suppressed a smile. Sam shot him a glare, and he tried his best to regain a straight face.

"What are you guys doing." Sam said, trying to break the tension.

"Nothing, just looking for a good place to eat."

"Nice!" Sam jogged over to the laptop and peered over Carly's shoulder. "I'm game for anyplace that sells food, except places that sell parfaits." She shuddered. "I don't know what the deal is with those things, but they are a disgrace to both fruit, and yogurt."

"Gee, how considerate of you to think of everyone for breakfast." Freddie smiled sarcastically, and Sam stuck her tongue out at him.

Spencer was so white that he looked like a vampire when he started talking.

"Alright guys, we should get going soon before my sunscreen wears off."

Freddie, Carly and Sam glanced at each other, and then burst into laughter. Spencer looked confused.

"What?" None of us had stopped laughing yet.

"What's so funny?"

"Spencer…" Carly was trying to get out between giggles, "you look like you just saw Sam and Freddie making out!"

Carly kept laughing, but Sam and Freddie's laughter stopped abruptly, and they both stared at each other in panic. Eventually they both started awkwardly laughing again, doing their best to avoid any suspicious gazes from Carly or Spencer.

Spencer looked at the bottle of sunscreen. "But it says, '…rub in well to make sure you get even coverage on all exposed parts of your body…' so that's what I did!"

Freddie and Sam's small laughter died out, while Carly tried to help Spencer rub some of it off.

Sam walked over and looked at the bottle of sunscreen.

"Dude, the expiration date on this is like four years ago!" This started another round of laughing, and Spencer let out an exasperated cry and then ran to his room.

As the laughter slowed down a bit, Carly spoke up. "Alright, I better go help him before he starts to cry. I don't know how long it could take; you and Freddie can go get breakfast by yourselves if you want?"

"No!" Sam yelled, but Freddie stood up.

"Actually, that's cool with me." He grinned, and Sam's face turned slightly pink with a look of horror.

"Kay, well then I'll see you guys later." Carly started to walk up the stairs.

"You're seriously going to make me go to breakfast with this loser!?" Sam was trying to fight it, but Carly was almost halfway up the stairs.

"I'm not making you go anywhere, but you need food and we don't have any at the house!" Carly yelled down to Sam.

Freddie put his hands into his pocket and smiled in triumph, but Sam just rolled her eyes and grabbed her purse.

"You're buying." She muttered, before striding out the door without looking at him.

Freddie smiled at her annoyance, and then followed her out closing the door behind him. Morning just got a little more interesting.

**

Hey guys, sorry that I haven't been writing as much, but man my holidays are rocking like a sailboat in a hurricane (please don't mind that weird analogy) right now, and I really haven't found much time for writing. Hopefully with the break I have I'll keep going…


	10. Self Control

Chapter 10 – Self Control

*Sam's POV*

Sam could not believe she was doing this. I mean, having to deal with Freddie when they were shooting iCarly was one thing, but now on her only vacation she had to go to breakfast with this nerd?

Sam sighed in disappointment as she came up to a café called "Twice-amore". What did that even mean? She went to open the door but Freddie was faster and reached the handle first, holding it open for her.

She stared at him in shock as he continued to hold the door, waiting for her politely.

Sam folded her arms. "What are you doing?"

Freddie looked up at her innocently, and shook his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you holding the door dipwad. This isn't a date if that's what you think…"

Freddie leaned against the door casually. "Well… we kind of did it backwards, but I'd say this was basically a first date."

Sam's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?" She yelled. Luckily there was no one around, because she might just hit him.

"I don't…. think so…"

"Who sleeps together on a first date!?"

Freddie was silent for a few moments, and then answered. "Us, apparently."

"No, not us, because there is no 'us'! Last night was a _mistake_, a freak lapse in judgement, and it's never happening again!"

"Whatever you say." Freddie gave her a smug smile, which only made her more frustrated.

Her face began to heat, so she quickly strode into the restaurant, and asked for a table.

"Ah yes, table for you and your boyfriend?" The waiter asked.

"NO!" Sam's face was only getting redder, especially since people from the restaurant were starting to stare. She cleared her throat.

"I mean… this idiot is _not_ my boyfriend." She scoffed

The waiter shrugged, and then told them to wait a minute as he walked off.

"Really, so I'm not your boyfriend." Freddie grinned and Sam chose not to respond to that, but he kept going anyway.

"Last time I checked…" Freddie breathed, gently pulling down the collar of Sam's turtleneck to reveal the light bruise on her neck, "Non-Boyfriends don't give hickies," he pressed his lips against her neck making her knees weak. Her eyes slid closed as Freddie began leaving smaller kisses leading up to her ear. She felt his arm wrap around her waist, teasing her pathetic self control.

"You're table's ready." The waiter's voice made Sam jump. She shouldered Freddie off of her and fixed the collar of her shirt. She knew her face probably matched ketchup right now, but tried to keep her cool as she followed closely behind the waiter to their table. After they had sat down, the waiter asked them if they wanted anything to drink. Freddie answered before she could say anything.

"Orange Juice for me, and she'll have chocolate milk."

"Very well." The waiter passed them their menu's and then walked off, leaving Sam scowling at Freddie.

"Thanks for letting me order." She mumbled.

Freddie laughed at her annoyance. "Oh come on, you've been ordering that drink for breakfast ever since I met you."

"Whatever." Sam grabbed her menu and began scanning it for something that looked good.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you look gorgeous when you're mad?" Freddie grinned which made Sam's face turn slightly pink, but she continued to stare at the menu_. Just keep pretending that he's Spencer, that'll keep you turned off_, was her only thought.

Freddie leaned back in his chair, stretching out his arms. His chest muscles pressed out lightly from under his shirt as he yawned lazily in the morning sun. Sam moved her menu slightly, watching as Freddie tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Her eyes wandered from his brown hair, down to his neck, and then kept going farther and farther…

"See something you like?" Freddie had noticed her staring, and now had a big dopey grin on his face.

"Ugh. Forget it, I'll skip breakfast." Sam rolled her eyes, annoyed that she had such weak self control, and even more annoyed that she had to skip breakfast. Her stomach groaned with disappointment as she left the café and headed in the direction of home.

"Sorry stomach, no breakfast for you." She sighed, but in a few minutes she heard footsteps following close behind her. She huffed angrily.

"Look Freddie last night was fun, but it was a joke I mean you really didn't think…" She turned around to see a confused brunette staring her straight in the face.

"Oh jeez, Carly hey what's up?" She scratched the back of her head as Carly's confused look became even more puzzled.

"What were you just talking about, with you and Freddie?" Her innocent eyes narrowed at Sam and waited for an answer.

Sam shifted her weight uncomfortably, as she thought of a good excuse. "Uh, well… last night me and Freddie we… played a game."

Carly folded her arms, and Sam continued with her pathetic lie. "I bet twenty dollars that he couldn't hold his breath for a minute, and he did…" Carly continued to look at her with a 'WTF' expression on her face. "So this morning at breakfast he was talking about the bet, and when I heard footsteps behind me I thought it was him about to ask for his twenty dollars…" The awkward silence was so thick Sam thought she could hear Freddie laughing at her ridiculous story.

"Ok then…." Carly said slowly, but she dropped it (thank god.) "Anyways I was just looking for you guys, I thought we could all go see a movie or something. Spencer is at home taking a really long bath, so we have some time to kill."

"Sure, why not." Sam agreed. At least in the darkness of the movie theater she wouldn't think about what just happened last night.

She shook her head. _Yeah right, but a girl can hope._

"Where's Freddie?"

Sam's eyes shot up to meet Carly's, and she struggled to answer. "Well he was…" Thankfully before she could say anything, Freddie strode up with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey guys. Group meeting?" He looked slightly confused.

"Yeah we were just looking for you. I'm thinking we should go see a movie, you want to come?" Carly bounced back to her usually bright and sunny self, which was a complete opposite to Sam and Freddie who were exhausted from last night. Freddie walked past Carly to Sam, who was staring at the ground trying not to look at him.

"Are you going to the movie?" He asked casually.

Sam looked up at Freddie and narrowed her blue-eyed gaze at him.

"Yes…" She answered slowly.

"Ok great, I'm in!" Freddie smiled.

_No No No No!_ Sam was secretly hoping that her going would drive him away, but now she guessed not.

Carly looked from one to the other, then shook her head. "I swear if I didn't know better I'd say you two were secretly dating or something." She laughed out loud, but Freddie and Sam were both silent.

They glanced at each other, then began awkwardly laughing before becoming silent again.

"Yeah that would be so crazy!" Sam said through clenched teeth.

"Ok let's go before Spencer gets out of the shower and decides to hunt us down and make us play more board games with him." Carly started walking off in the direction of the movie theater.

Sam stood still with her hand on her hip, staring at Freddie. He was grinning innocently like he had done nothing wrong.

"If you say one word about what happened last night, I will kill you." Sam put as much deadliness into her voice as she could manage, but Freddie seemed un-phased.

"Ladies first." He held out an arm in the direction of the theater. Sam shook her head and mumbled something dirty, before walking off to follow behind Carly.


	11. Uncomfortable Situations

Chapter 11 – Uncomfortable Situations

*Sam's POV*

Sam yawned as the movie theater lights dimmed down to almost nothing. Today felt like the day that was never going to end. She was seated midway to the back of the theater, with Carly on her left and Freddie on her right. Naturally, she leaned as far away from Freddie as was possible in the tiny theater seat, but even with that her leg was still pressed up against his. They were seeing a movie called 'Uncomfortable Situations' which Sam thought was appropriate to her life right now. She tried to absorb herself in the movie, but Carly started whispering to her after a few minutes.

"I actually can't wait to get back home, I've been thinking about this great sketch we could do for iCarly and guess what…" Carly's was suppressing a smile and Sam could only imagine what she was about to say.

"What…?"

"The sketch has Mike in it!"

Sam groaned to herself as she remembered Mike. It seemed like so long ago, but that had been her school crush. Now she wasn't so sure.

"Great…" She tried to sound excited, but didn't do such a great job because Carly picked up on it.

"What's wrong I thought you really liked Mike?" Carly pouted her face at such an unenthusiastic response.

Freddie's leg shifted against Sam's and she shivered involuntarily. Noticing her reaction, Freddie gave a barely audible laugh. _Oh please tell me he didn't see that_. After a few seconds, Sam felt his hand on her leg and she sucked in a breath.

"I did like him!" She said quickly. "I mean, I do…!" She fixed her statement, but Freddie's hand started slowly sliding up her leg and she had to bite her tongue to try and keep her face calm. Thank god the movie theater was dark so no one could see her scarlet face.

Carly gave her an unconvinced look, then shook her head."Well who do you like then if not Mike?"

Sam was failing miserably at trying to hear what Carly was saying, and instead could only concentrate on ways to kill Freddie and make it look like an accident.

"Well you know…" Sam tried to push Freddie's hand off with her elbow, "not really anyone right now…" Out of the corner of her eye she could see Freddie grinning.

Carly laughed silently. "Oh come on, you always have some crush."

Freddie's hand was now far past Sam's knee, and eventually she couldn't even form a sentence. She turned her head and coughed loudly while at the same time slapping Freddie's hand off her. He laughed slightly, but she shot him a dirty look and he stopped.

Sam's heated face started to cool as she turned back around. Carly, completely oblivious to what had just happened, waited patiently for Sam to respond.

_Dang it Freddie, could you at least sexually harass me when I wasn't talking to someone, _Sam thought, but then immediately took it back when she realized how wrong that sounded. She sighed and looked apologetically at Carly.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"You're crush! Who do you like right now?"

"Uhhhhh…." Sam lolled her head from side to side in thought. The seats were so close that she almost hit Freddie in the head. _He would have deserved it though._

"Yeah tell us Sam…" Freddie whispered from his seat, "Who _do_ you have a crush on?" He sat back and waited patiently for an answer. Sam glared at him in warning, but he continued to talk. "What about that guy at the beach party yesterday, he seemed cool."

"Yeah well he really wasn't my type." Sam said, clenching her teeth.

"Aw that's a shame, he really was hot." Carly looked off into the distance, reminiscing on all the hot boys that had been at the beach party they went to.

"Yup." Sam answered flatly.

It was silent for a few minutes as they all watched a scene from the movie. Then Carly started whisper/talking again. "Well how about you Freddie, any girls you have a crush on?"

Sam grinned as she turned her full attention to Freddie. "Yeah…." She said with a smug look on her face. "Any girls desperate enough to go on a date with you?"

And just when Sam thought she was getting even… "Yeah one actually."

Freddie smiled, but Carly flipped out.

"What? Who! Spill the details!" Carly was now on the edge of her seat, leaning around Sam who's victorious face was now painted with confusion.

"Well actually I don't think you'd know her. But just know that she's gorgeous, and she's nuts about me." Freddie's eyes narrowed at Sam. "She tries to hide it, but she likes me more than she's willing to admit."

Carly bounced a little in her chair. "Awww… That's so cute! We have to meet her someday!"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she sounds like a real keeper. As long as she doesn't try and ruin our show like your last girlfriend." Sam fixed him with a look. "You tend to attract some real psycho's."

Freddie smiled. "You'd be amazed." Sam gave him a flat look and he held up his hands in a fake apology.

Carly raised an eyebrow as her gaze shifted between Sam and Freddie.

"What is with you two, ever since the beach party you guys have been acting so weird. Actually… come to think of it, what _did_ happen last? I fell asleep on the couch while watching T.V. with Spencer, but I don't remember seeing you two at all --"

"Yeah well he vented at me for being a demon in disguise, and then I called him a dork and stormed off to my room." Sam mentally congratulated herself for finally making up a convincing lie. Carly looked at Freddie who had a slow reaction, but nodded in agreement.

Carly narrowed her eyes. "If you guys say so…."

"O.K., I got to go to the bathroom I'll be right back." Sam got up and leaned over Freddie to try and move passed him, but he had purposely leaned forward to make it harder for her to go by. She stepped on his foot hard, before pushing him out of the way with her leg.

In the bathroom, Sam looked at herself in the mirror. What in the world was happening to her? Just yesterday Freddie was just some dork that she could pick on anytime she was having a bad day. And he would take it. There were only a few times where Freddie had ever stood up for himself. But now, he was… confident. Worse than that he knew how to mess with her mind.

Sam sighed. She was right, this was the day that was never going to end.


	12. Complication

Chapter 12

*Sam's POV*

After the movies, Carly, Sam and Freddie headed home to Spencer. Sam was so tired that she was having trouble keeping her eyes open. Freddie was equally as tired, but hid it better then Sam did. Carly was talking a mile a minute and both Sam and Freddie would just nod every few seconds, not really taking in what she saying.

"What's wrong with you guys, it's like I'm talking to zombie's!" Carly had finally gotten fed up with the lack of energy in everyone.

Freddie yawned. "Sorry Carly, it's just the beds in our beach house are a little stiff…"

She dropped the subject at that, and they continued to walk in silence until they reached the house. When they got there, Carly went to get a drink from the fridge, and Sam practically collapsed on the couch, too tired to worry about anything else.

Carly started heading up the stairs. "Hey Freddie, I'm gonna go check on Spencer, can you move Sam upstairs?"

"On it."

Sam heard footsteps coming towards the couch, and in moments her world tilted as she was scooped off the couch. "Put me down." She muttered against Freddie's shoulder, but he just kept walking up to her room, and then set her down gently on top of the bed. Sam was drifting heavily into sleep, and could just barely feel Freddie pull off her shoes, and place a blanket over her.

* * *

*Freddie's POV*

Freddie fixed the blanket so that it covered Sam completely. Knowing that she was already asleep, he bent over and kissed her forehead goodnight. He was extremely tired, but refused to take a nap because it would throw off his sleeping pattern. He walked downstairs and sat down on the couch, waiting to see what Carly and Spencer were going to do. A few minutes later, they both came down in swim suits.

"Oh hey Freddie, I thought you were going to go take a nap?" Carly had a towel and sunscreen in hand, and Spencer (who had washed away the sunscreen paste) was carrying a beach bag and towel.

"Nah, I can sleep later. You guys headed to the beach?"

"Yes! I can't wait, I'm supposed to meet this really hot guy from the party…" Carly stopped after Spencer gave her a look.

"A-Anyways…" She continued, "You want to come with us? There's plenty of room under this umbrella."

Freddie sighed. He could either spend a day watching Spencer's horrible impression of Jaws, or waiting around for Sam to wake up. Neither sounded all that appealing, although he'd rather stay with Sam if anything. Then he remembered Kayla, and wondered what she was up to.

"Actually, I'm going to go walk around for a little bit. I'll see you guys later?"

Carly and Spencer both nodded in agreement, then shouted goodbye's as they walked out the door.

* * *

Finding Kayla was harder than it looked. Obviously she wasn't just standing around on the street waiting for him—

"Freddie!"

_But then again… _Freddie turned to see Kayla waving to him from across the street. He waved back, and then jogged up to her when there was a red light.

"Hey, what's up?" He gave her a high five and she shook her head.

"Not much, how 'bout you?"

Freddie thought about all the events that had happened in the past 24 hours, and decided to give Kayla the abridged version. "Nothing." He said flatly. _I guess that was the really abridged version._

"Well?" Kayla looked up at him anxiously. Freddie gave her a confused look and she sighed.

"What happened!?" She kept on pressing and Freddie finally got it.

"Ohhhh, you mean what happened between me and Sam?"

"Duhhh! Who else would I be talking about?"

Freddie smiled. "Welll let's just say I don't think she'll be so mean to me anymore."

Kayla's eyes widened. "Spill the details!"

Freddie laughed. "Ok, OK well I don't want you to jump to any conclusions so I'm not going to say anything for now, but just know that hate is not the only feeling Sam has for me any longer."

"Well, well, well." Kayla looked truly impressed. "Look who's become a player overnight." They both laughed.

"Where is Sam anyway?"

Freddie nodded his head in the direction of their house. "She's back at our place sleeping."

"Oh, well if you have time to kill, you want to go do something?"

Freddie rolled his head from side to side. "Actually I'm not really feeling up to it. I thought I wasn't tired but now I'm thinking I could definitely use some sleep. Sorry, maybe some other time." He gave Kayla an apologetic look and Kayla laughed.

"Relax! Go home and get some rest you look like you're about to pass out."

Freddie nodded sleepily, and then waved to Kayla as he headed back to the house. To be truthful, he enjoyed Kayla's company, but it got tiresome after a while. All he really wanted to do was go home and sleep.

Actually all he _really_ wanted to do was…

"Sam!"

Freddie's head snapped up to see a tall blonde-headed boy about his age, talking to some salesman at the Market.

"She's my age, a little shorter than me, and she was here last night at a beach party. Have you seen anyone like that?"

Freddie shook his head to himself. This was the same Blonde Surfer Guy from the party last night. Darin was it? Or maybe Daemon…

He walked by quickly, trying not to draw attention but it didn't work.

"Hey you!" The blonde kid walked hastily up to him. "I saw you last night at the party with Sam. Do you know where she is?"

_Yeah, she's beat from spending the night with me. _"Uh, no sorry dude." Freddie tried to move past him but he blocked his way.

"Are you sure? I think me and her had… like… something special, you know? Sorry, by the way my name is Devon." He held out his hand to shake, but Freddie kept staring at him. Did he really just say that? Him and Sam have 'something special'?. They were only at the party for like 2 hours!

Freddie sighed. "Look, I don't think Sam really wants to see you anymore, you see she…. Found someone else." He thought that sounded acceptable but Devon looked horrified.

"Well who is this guy? Is he a loser, cause if he is I can beat him up!"

Freddie was about to answer 'No', but he had to think about it. AV club, iCarly's technicaly producer… he might as well be a loser… _But then again a loser couldn't turn on Sam_.

"Not really, no…"

"Aw man!" Devon exclaimed.

"Yup, guess you'll have to find someone else."

"No way! Devon Eleven doesn't give up that easy!"

_Was that his actual name…? _Freddie could hardly take him seriously with his slow, thick surfer dude accent. It was almost as if he was the boy version of Paris Hilton with even worse grammatical skills.

"But she's already with someone."

"The best girls are!" Devon laughed and held up his fist. Freddie didn't bump it but instead shook his head and left. It was acceptable for guys to be somewhat idiotic, but that was just ridiculous.

When Freddie reached the house he went straight upstairs to his bedroom. He wasn't in any mood to fight his growing need for sleep, so he crashed immediately not even bothering to turn off any lights. Hopefully Sam would be awake soon, so he would have something to keep him occupied.


	13. GreenEyed Monster

Chapter 13 – Green Eyed Monster

*Sam's POV*

Sam woke up feeling amazing. The three hour nap had done wonders for her aching muscles, and not having any weird, sexual dreams involving Freddie was a definite plus. She yawned and crawled out from under the covers, slowly making her way to the bathroom. She hadn't changed out of her turtleneck before she took a nap, and the fact that her hickey was still there wasn't helping one bit. She huffed at the drastic turn of events that had happened in the past 24 hours.

"One heck of a vacation…" She muttered to her reflection in the mirror.

After grudgingly making it downstairs, she grabbed a glass of water before plopping herself down on the couch to watch T.V. She flipped through plenty of channels, but nothing caught her interest so she left it on the food network then reached for her cell phone and called Carly.

"_Hello?_"

"Carlos! Where you at?"

"_Oh hey Sam, we're really close to home. Did you get some sleep_?"

"Yup, tons." Sam smiled at how refreshed she was.

"_Well good let's hope you can actually hold a conversation with me now_."

"Hardee har har…"

A few seconds later the door clicked open and Spencer and Carly came in, wrapped in beach towels. Sam jumped up to go hug them but immediately retreated when she realized they were still wet from the beach.

"Bleh." She wiped off all the salt-water from her clothes.

They both laughed and then got some root beer from the fridge. Spencer stayed over in the kitchen, looking at something on the laptop, while Carly joined Sam on the couch.

Carly started to talk about this guy from the beach party that asked her out on a date for tomorrow night. Sam feigned interest, but when she heard Freddie coming down the stairs she tried to look super-involved in the conversation. Freddie didn't buy it. He casually walked over and sat down on a chair next to the couch.

"Yay!" Carly bounced up and down in her seat. "My two best friends are A-L-I-V-E! Seriously all day you guys have been like falling asleep."

Sam and Freddie both smiled at her, having nothing else to say.

"So Freddie, as I was just telling Sam, this guy Grant from the beach party yesterday asked me out on a date for tomorrow night! I just saw him at the beach, and he popped the question!"

Freddie looked impressed, but Sam could tell he was just as uninterested as she was.

"Oh that reminds me," Freddie scratched his head trying to remember something, "This guy named Devon was looking for you Sam. He says you guys really had a 'special connection' last night." Sam sighed at the irony. Devon wasn't the only 'special connection' she had last night.

She thought back to the beach party, and remembered that Devon was the weird surfer-guy that she had been clinging too. It was too embarrassing to admit ever having met him, so Sam just shook her head.

"Never heard of him."

"That's not what he says…" Freddie muttered.

Sam studied Freddie's face for a few minutes. He was staring at the ground, fiddling with a small section on his chair, and clenching his teeth slightly. Was he jealous?

Suddenly an idea sparked in Sam's head. _That's the perfect way to crush Freddie's confidence! Go on a date with some random loser to make him jealous! _She mentally congratulated herself, and then smiled deviously.

"Oh riiighht, Devon! I do remember him, he was so sweet." She batted her eyelashes in mock admiration, and saw Freddie roll his eyes in her peripheral vision.

"Yeah well he was looking for you earlier, but I told him you were… busy."

"Well, I'll just tell him I'm un-busy!" Sam smiled and grabbed her phone. _Please, please, please tell me that I got this Devon guy's number. _She scrolled down to D, and found Devon's name in all caps. _Bingo._

"Ooooh, Sam call him and set up a double date with me and Grant!!!" Carly was bubbling over with excitement now.

Sam gave a smug grin in Freddie's direction. "That's a perfect idea!"

Freddie looked like he was panicking, but he spoke up quickly. "Yeah well you better make it a triple-date!"

Carly and Sam's heads both snapped up to look at Freddie. "What!?" Sam spat out immediately, but when Carly looked over at her in shock, she cleared her throat. "I mean… what?" She whispered. Freddie sat up a little straighter.

"Yup, me and my… date are coming too." Freddie grinned in triumph and Sam scowled at him.

"Oh please," She said, "Who would ever want to date _you_."

"Uhh…" Freddie stammered for an answer and Sam knew he was bluffing. "Kayla."

Sam raised an eyebrow, and Carly's eyes widened.

"Is that the girl you were talking about at the movies?" Carly blurted out.

Freddie nodded and Sam rolled her eyes.

"Great, you just call your fictional girlfriend, and we'll all go on a triple-date." Sam said flatly.

"Fine." Freddie shot back. "But she's not fictional."

"Yeah, whatever."

Freddie took out his cell phone, and in a few minutes both Sam and Freddie were in different rooms talking to their 'dates'.

Carly was still over-excited with them all going out on a date together, but for Sam and Freddie this was something different. For Sam and Freddie, this was war.


	14. Triple Date Part 1

**Chapter 14 – Triple Date (Part 1)**

*Freddie's POV*

Freddie paced in his room, running his fingers through his hair. _What was he thinking saying that Kayla would be his date?_ Yesterday it had seemed like such a good plan, but now he wasn't so sure.

It was thirty minutes before they had to be at Repas du Soleil, some French restaurant by the beach. He knew Sam had signed up for this dinner for one reason only. To make him jealous. Well two could play at that game.

Freddie smoothed out his striped blue collared shirt, then hurried downstairs to wait for Kayla. As planned, she arrived at exactly 6:45pm, and ready for a dinner date. She was dressed casually for the most part, wearing a pink sundress and a matching headband.

"I don't like this idea." Was all she said when Freddie opened the door for her.

"Yeah well, just make it seem like we're really dating or else Sam's going to know we're faking ." Freddie was just as anxious as she was, but it was going to be worth it in the end. There was no way Sam could hide her feelings all night.

A few minutes later the doorbell rang and Carly squealed, "I got it!" as she ran to the door. Instead of Grant however, it was Devon. He was wearing in his best tie-dye beach shirt and khaki shorts, and had his sunglasses on backwards.

Disappointment was plain on Carly's face. "Oh…." She walked over to the stairs, "Sam! It's for you!"

"Coming!" Sam descended the stairs wearing a navy blue dress and matching shoes, with a silver necklace. As she walked over, Devon let out a low whistle and gave a thumbs-up to Freddie.

"He's a real charmer, I can see why Sam likes him." Kayla said with a flat look.

"I can't." Freddie muttered in disgust, watching Sam pretend to laugh at Devon's lame excuse for a compliment.

Every few seconds that Sam would glance over. Freddie knew she was just checking to make sure her plan was working. Refusing to admit defeat, Freddie wrapped his arm around Kayla.

"Carly! Where's your date, me and my beautiful girlfriend whom I love very much… are hungry." Freddie smiled at Kayla, and she caught up almost instantly.

"Yes!" She said awkwardly, "Don't keep me and my… love-monkey waiting." She smiled and Sam folded her arms.

Carly sighed. "Sorry you guys, he should be here any—"

The doorbell rang, and Carly was the first to answer it.

"Hi, Grant!" She squeaked as she opened the door wide for him to come in. Grant was a medium tall guy with a square jaw and floppy hair. Not exactly what Freddie had pictured, but it didn't really matter at this point.

Freddie raised an eyebrow at Kayla and mouthed the words, "Love monkey?"

Kayla scowled at him. "This was your idea!" she whisper yelled.

Freddie nodded his head, and backed off a bit.

"Ok, so should we go?" Carly grabbed her purse, and then walked out the door with Grant, followed by a less enthusiastic Kayla.

"Let's hit it!" Devon gave a rock out sign, and then pulled his sun-glasses up over his head so that they were facing the right way.

Freddie could see Sam rolling her eyes, and he held his laughter in.

"He's a real keeper." He said to Sam as he walked by her.

"Yeah well he's better than little miss 'Carly Wannabee' over there." Sam pointed over at Kayla, who was texting someone on her phone.

"At least my date actually dresses for the occasion, instead of looking like he stumbled out of a 8-year-olds birthday party." Freddie retorted, and Sam shot him a look.

"Well I'll have you know, that Devon is a perfect gentlemen. If it weren't for the fact that I had to go apologize to some _dork_ last night, then I would have gone home with him." She smiled in satisfaction.

"Funny, that's the best apology I've ever gotten—"

"Devon, wait up!" Sam sped up to Devon, and then hooked an arm around his. Freddie's brow drew down in annoyance, and he jogged up to Kayla and grabbed her hand.

"Ow!" Kayla said, and Freddie subtly nodded his head over in the direction of Sam and Devon.

"I mean… _H-ow_, did I get so lucky with him?" Kayla placed her other hand over Freddie's, and Freddie whispered a 'thanks' under his breath.

* * *

They all arrived at the restaurant about 10 minutes late, but the reservation was still there so the waiter brought them to their table. It was a large round table, and Grant and Carly were the first to sit down. Grant politely pulled out a chair for Carly, and then sat down next to her. Devon rushed up to the seat next to Grant, and plopped down without even seeing if Sam was behind him. Freddie heard Sam let out a huff, and then go sit down next to Devon. Freddie accurately positioned himself so that Kayla was sitting next to Carly, and he could sit next to Sam. As dinner groups go, this was definitely the most awkward one he'd ever been with.

The waiter came and brought them their menus, and everyone was momentarily quiet as they chose what to eat.

Carly looked like she could care less about anything on the menu, as she sat leaning against the table staring at Grant.

"You have great hair." She said, almost possessively.

Grant laughed quietly. "Thanks… what are you having?"

Carly continued to stare in awe. A few seconds later she answered, "You have great hair."

Grant laughed again, and this time everyone joined in. Carly cleared her throat. "I mean… the French fries look good…" Her face started to redden in embarrassment. Grant began talking to Carly about something, but Freddie wasn't really paying attention.

"So Devon," He said icily, "What are you going to order?"

Devon almost didn't hear him, because he was looking at his reflection using Sam's spoon. "Oh dude I'm getting the chicken nugget's most def!"

Freddie nodded his head in conclusion. Looks like 'Devon Eleven' _is_ the kind of book you can judge by the cover.

"How'd you two meet again?" Freddie wasn't done talking to this guy yet. The more Devon spoke, the more Sam would want to hit him.

"At the party, you were there remember?"

"Yes but… tell it again because it's so _romantic_." Freddie fixed a stare at Sam, who continued to look at the menu.

"Well you know, Sam was all over me, as girls usually are," Devon paused to wink at Sam, who raised an eyebrow at him but smiled anyway, "and then there was like this… immediate like, connection between us. It was like supernatureall you know?"

Freddie stared at him blankly. _Did he just say what I think he just said?_ "Sorry, did you say Super-nature-all….?"

Devon nodded his head seriously, and Kayla shook hers.

"That's what I thought…" Freddie scratched his head, and then went back to looking at his menu.

After a few minutes of silence, Devon coughed loudly. "I gotta hit the can." He said, then stood up and walked off.

"Yeah actually, I need to make a call I'll be right back." Kayla got up and followed Devon to the outer lobby of the restaurant.

The minute they were out of sight, Sam grabbed Freddie's collar and yanked him around to face her.

"Stop it!" She practically yelled.

Freddie suppressed his laughter. "Stop what?" He said coolly.

"You know what! Stop trying to sabotage my date you –"

"Guys, what's wrong?" Carly glanced over to see their argument, and Sam almost immediately backed off.

"Wha--? Oh nothing!" She laughed and smoothed Freddie's collar out. "Just fixing Freddie's shirt for him." She smiled innocently, and Carly shrugged before hesitantly turning back to Grant.

When they were back to talking, Sam re-gripped Freddie's collar and turned his face back to hers.

"You mess up my date tonight, and you're going to regret it."

Freddie gave a crooked smile. "What are you going to do, _punish_ me?" His grin widened, and Sam shoved him back into his seat.

"You better stop before Devon comes back; I heard he's a black belt in Tae Kwon Do." Sam gave a smug smile, and Freddie stared at the table.

"Whatever." He mumbled.

"Man, jealousy really doesn't look too good on you Benson."

"You either, Puckett."

Her blue eyes narrowed at him, and Freddie picked up his menu and continued reading it. Sam eventually picked up her menu, to annoyed to say anything else. Freddie thought for a few moments, watching as Sam twiddled a piece of hair between her thumb and forefinger.

"I'll make you a bet." Freddie set his menu down, and turned to face Sam directly. Sam looked unwilling at first, but Freddie took her menu and placed it on the table.

"If you can last the whole entire night with Mr. Eleven over there, then I'll leave you alone forever." Sam's interest peaked at that, and Freddie suddenly had her full attention. She stared at him for a few moments, before responding.

"And if I can't last the whole night with him?"

Freddie smiled. "Then you spend a night with me."

Sam rolled her eyes. "You're disgusting." She muttered.

Freddie suddenly realized how that sounded, and he backtracked a little. "Well, not like that. I meant we go on a _date_. You and me. And an actual date, not a semi-date." Freddie looked up sheepishly at Sam, who continued to stare at him. He was having a hard time reading her, so he waited patiently.

"Fine." She answered plainly.

"Really!?" Freddie said anxiously, but then cleared his throat. "I mean… you're taking the bet?"

"Yup. Just don't get your hopes up, because I'm only in it to see the look on your face when I _do_ last the entire night with Devon."

Freddie laughed. "You're on."

* * *

~~~~~~~**To Be Continued**


	15. Triple Date Part 2

**Chapter 15 – Triple Date (Part 2)**

*Sam's POV*

Sam closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. A bet with Freddie? PLease, It was as good as won. I mean it was just Benson… right? She stole a look at Freddie, who was absent-mindedly fiddling with the edge of the Menu. Freddie looked up and saw the look of panic flash over Sam's eyes briefly, and a grin split his face.

"Anytime you want to forfeit, just say so." Freddie whispered to Sam.

Sam gave him a hard look, and then shook her head. "Not a chance, Fredwardo." After seeing his grin, Sam resolved that she wasn't going to lose this bet. It was completely out of the question. Losing meant the _end_ of her reputation. Losing meant no brag rights. And worst of all, she would have to acknowledge that the twerp actually beat her at something.

As the dinner dragged on, Sam weighed out some pro's and con's between Freddie and Devon. Devon was nice: Pro. Sometimes Devon would cite poetry, (badly) but it was poetry none the less: Pro. Devon made Freddie crazy jealous: So completely a Pro. However, he carried a mirror in his back pocket, he burped every few minutes and then blamed it on the waiter, and he ate like a starved pig: All cons.

But like Freddie was a better replacement. Freddie was… a dork: Con. He was annoying: Con. He's been staring at me for the better part of this dinner date: Con. Sam actually found him somewhat attractive…: CON. And no doubt, he was intentionally driving her insane. Sam smiled to herself, happy that the Con's had weighed Freddie out of the equation.

She looked over at Devon, who had just finished the chicken fingers he ordered off the Kids Menu. He sat back and licked his fingers, flashing a goofy smile at Sam every few seconds. Sam smiled awkwardly back at him, and then shook her head. _Even as a pretend date, this is ridiculous._

Freddie would talk to Kayla mostly, but every once and a while he would glance over at Sam. Probably checking to make sure she hadn't killed Devon yet. Although they were coming up on that pretty quick.

"So Devon…" Sam tried to make small talk, "You really like to surf right?"

Devon nodded and then responded with a mouthful of fries. "To surf, or not to surf." With his mouth full, it sounded more like he was saying, "Dufus, or not a dufus." _Tough choice_, Sam thought.

Sam pretended to look at him in awe. "Wow," She breathed, "That sounds so brave. Surfing is so much more interesting then any _Dumb Tech Stuff_." She put heavy emphasis on the last words, and Freddie cleared his throat.

"Yeah! Who needs to know how to program a computer, when you can ride a wave like nobody's business." He said sarcastically.

Kayla and Carly both giggled a little, and Grant raised his eyebrows. Devon nodded his head seriously, almost as if he didn't hear the backhanded compliment. Sam narrowed her eyes at Freddie, and then reached over purposely spilling Freddie's drink all over his pants. Freddie's jaw dropped as he grabbed for a towel and started drying the water off.

"Whoops." Sam said flatly. She turned back to Devon, but almost immediately felt something tickling her foot. She let out a scream of laughter, but then slapped her hand to her mouth when she saw most of the restaurant was looking at her.

She turned to see Freddie who was smiling. "Oh I'm sorry, was that you're foot?"

Sam let out a heated breath as Freddie sat calmly waiting for an answer.

"Don't worry about it." She finally answered through clenched teeth.

"Trust me, I won't." Freddie's smile got bigger, and Sam wanted so badly to whack him upside the head.

Freddie turned back to talk to Kayla, and soon the restaurant was back to their light chatter. After a few moments, the waiter brought everyone else's food to the table. Devon's had arrived earlier then the rest because of the simplicity of his meal (Chicken Fingers), and the fact that they thought it was for an actual kid.

Everyone picked up their utensils and started eating, but about two minutes in Freddie elbowed Sam when he was cutting a piece of chicken.

"Ow." Sam looked over to Freddie, who pretended nothing had happened. Sam picked up her knife and began to cut her salad vigorously, elbowing Freddie in the ribs several times. Freddie groaned slightly, then set down his utensils, and picked up his ketchup. He squirted it, missing his plate by several inches and hitting Sam's dress instead.

"What the heck, Freddie!" Sam immediately grabbed a towel and cleaned it up.

"Now we're even." He said coolly.

Sam narrowed her eyes at him. "Not even close." She grabbed a few ice cubes out of Devon's drink, and dropped it down the back of Freddie's shirt. Freddie shivered and squirmed, reaching urgently at the lumps now traveling down his back, and Sam burst out into laughter. Across the table Carly sighed, and gave Grant an apologetic look.

"They're going through a… rough patch." Was the only answer Carly could provide.

Carly got up and walked around the table, grabbing Freddie and Sam by their ears.

"Excuse me, just for a second." She smiled at the table full of confused looking dates, and then began dragging both Sam and Freddie out of the restaurant.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow." Sam and Freddie's incessant whines were of no use with Carly, who looked more than fed up at the moment.

Carly let them go once they had reached the outdoors. They both started to talk at once, and Carly held up a hand. "I don't even want to know. Just work it out, so you don't ruin my date with Grant." Carly said quickly, and then walked back inside the restaurant.

Sam folded her arms and turned towards the beach. She cooled down as the ocean mist air reached her face. This was pretty much pointless, considering both her and Freddie would never beat down their pride far enough to say—

"Sorry."

Sam's head snapped around to face Freddie, who stood with his hands in his pockets looking up at her from under his eyebrows.

"What?" Sam was in complete shock. Whatever lame insult she thought Freddie was going to throw at her, that was definitely not it.

"I said Sorry."

Sam stood watching him for a few seconds, before answering.

"Oh well…" Sam caught herself before she said anything else. "Good, you should be." She stood still briefly and then walked back into the restaurant, Freddie's footsteps following unnaturally close behind.

"But I'm pretty sure you're going to lose this bet." Freddie whispered in her ear as they kept walking back towards the table.

Sam continued to walk, not taking in any of what Freddie was saying seriously. "I wouldn't be so sure of that." Sam thought the most he could do was spill the fact that they spent the night together.

She was wrong.

As soon as they were in sight of everyone at the table, Freddie grabbed Sam's hand from behind and spun her around. The minute she turned, Freddie kissed her. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in to make the kiss deeper. If Sam had stopped immediately, this probably wouldn't have been a problem. But it lasted a few seconds before she pushed him off.

"What are you doing!?" She wiped her hand across her mouth, and looked at him in shock. Carly, Grant and Kayla were speechless. Devon looked horrified, before getting up and walking over to Freddie and Sam. He looked at Sam in disbelief.

"What are _you_ doing?" Devon asked her.

"Whoa, whoa Devon," Sam's could feel her face turning red as she struggled to gain control of her train of thought again, "That wasn't what it looked like—"

"No, forget it. I can't be with someone who kisses other people!" Devon sounded like an angry five-year old, and Freddie almost started laughing. Sam elbowed him in the stomach, and then started complaining again.

"But Devon, that wasn't even my fault—"

"Whatever, I'm out." Devon gave the rock out sign (figures), and then walked off. Sam was astonished at what was happening. _What in the world,_ was the only thought she could form.

Kayla sighed, and got up after Devon. "I'll take care of it," Was all she said before she walked out of the restaurant.

Carly and Grant sat perfectly still, as if thinking they might go unnoticed if they stayed like that.

Sam spun around to face Freddie, her already heated atmosphere turning hotter from anger.

"What was that!?" She half-yelled in the restaurant.

Freddie shrugged, and then gave her a crooked smile. "Told ya you were gonna lose the bet."

Sam gave Freddie an icy stare. "That doesn't count, you were the one who made him leave."

"Actually, the bet said that if you couldn't last the whole night with Devon, then you would have to go on a date with me. And you didn't last the whole night, because Devon is no longer present." He smiled as if he was going to charm his way out of this one.

Sam gave him a look. "Are you kidding me?"

Freddie sighed, and then gently took her arm, and led her to a more secluded part of the restaurant. He pulled her around to face her, but Sam averted her gaze and looked at the ground. Freddie laughed briefly, and then softly turned her head so that she was facing him.

"Come on, you don't really want to be with Devon and you know it." He whispered into her ear. Sam was holding her breath to prevent Freddie from hearing her erratic breathing pattern right now. She eventually let it out in a huff.

"I'll take that as a 'You're right Freddie, I actually want to go out on a date with you.'" Freddie mimicked Sam's voice and she held in her laughter, and instead tried to protest.

"No I don't want to—"

"Great, so tomorrow around eight-ish? See you then!" Freddie gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then walked out before she had time to say anything.

Sam couldn't stop the partial smile that crept onto her face, but she immediately got rid of it and returned to the table.

Carly and Grant sat there in silence, still in shock from what had just happened.

Sam sat down calmly across from them, and took a few deep breaths. She picked up her menu, until she noticed Carly and Grant both staring at her in waiting. She smiled at them, and instead of explaining any of the madness that had just happened, she simply said, "Great. So should we have dessert?"


	16. Pottery

Chapter 16 – Pottery

*Carly's POV*

"This is stupid."

"Yeah, no kidding."

Carly sighed as she listened to her two friends mutter angrily about her decision to go to Make Your Own Pottery. The good thing was they were agreeing. The bad thing was they were agreeing on how bad this trip was. Progress, but not really progress.

"Get over it! This is going to be fun O.K.?" Carly could hardly contain her excitement, which is probably the only reason Sam said she would come. And then Freddie only came because Sam came. It's weird, those two were getting strangely close lately…

"Look, lately we've all been deprived of some quality 'us' time. I miss hanging with just you guys! So try to make the best of this alright?" Carly gave her best puppy face, and both Sam and Freddie sighed.

"Fine, but this is still stupid." Sam trudged inside, holding the door for Carly and then closing it just in time for Freddie to smack his head on it.

"Ow." Freddie rubbed his head pathetically and retreated to an empty table, while Carly and Sam went to the cashier to pay for their pottery.

"Three, please." The cashier nodded, and then begin calculating something on the register.

"That'll be twenty-four fifty." He said after a few seconds. Carly rummaged through her bag for her wallet. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sam leaning against the counter looking mightily disinterested. Freddie was still rubbing his head, and a brief smile spread across Sam's face.

Carly frowned. "You know, one day you're going to regret being so mean to him…"

Sam laughed at that, and then said, "Suure…," before stalking away to browse the pottery collection.

Freddie hopped up and followed Sam to the shelves holding finished pieces of pottery.

While they looked around at different pieces, Carly couldn't help but notice how cute they looked together. They were complete opposites of each other in every way, but somehow looked like they were made for one another.

* * *

"What are you making?" Carly asked Freddie, who was concentrating intently on the blob of clay in front of him. His eyebrows were scrunched together, and he almost didn't hear her.

"Wha..? Oh, nothing! You'll see when I'm done." His face flushed a little before he resumed his work attentively, avoiding looks from both Carly and Sam. Carly glanced over to Sam who shrugged, before getting back to work on her own piece. Carly wasn't sure where she was going with her clay, but at least she was trying unlike Sam who was just stabbing her clay repeatedly with a stick.

"And, what are _you_ making?" Carly said, just as Sam looked up from her deranged piece of clay.

"A comet." She said flatly.

"Like from outer space?"

Sam's face brightened. "Yes, and when I'm done we can tie Freddie to it and send them both back to their home planet!"

Carly giggled, and Freddie rolled his eyes before continuing his work, but Carly thought she saw a hint of a smile on his face.

Sam slumped back down and continued to pound her clay with a stick.

"So guys, later tonight you wanna go to the arcade or something?" Carly figured she was making a dying attempt at getting these two to cooperate, but this seemed to catch their attention.

Relief washed over Sam's face as she spurted out, "Yes! Let's do that—"

But Freddie cut her off. "Actually, we have plans."

Carly shifted her gaze from Freddie to Sam. "You two, have _plans_?"

Sam looked like she was about to say otherwise, but Freddie gave her a meaningful look and she backtracked.

"Uhh… Sort of."

The look of astonishment was plain on Carly's face. "With each other?" On a scale of 1 to 10 in the weird zone this was definitely a 9. Even more weird than that would be if Sam and Freddie were dating or something –

"No! Not with each other." Sam's face started to flush a little, and she glanced over at Freddie.

"Of course not." He added hastily. "We're just going… to see Kayla and Devon. But at two _completely _different locations."

Sam looked confused momentarily, but she quickly recovered by nodding in agreement.

"Oh… O.K. then..?" Carly went back to her clay work, feeling a little left out. The thing was, she knew that they were both lying through their teeth. She just didn't know why. They had all been best friends for so long, and the only other time that Sam and Freddie had lied to her was when they kissed –

Carly's eyes widened.

_No Way_, she thought.

* * *

**Hey guys, sorry its been like a week since I've updated, but I have been reading like nobody's business. Right now I'm on the last book of the Maximum Ride series (I would highly reccomend it, it's a really great series). Anyway this is a short chap. getting ready for Sam and Freddie's secret date, so be looking out for the next chapter!**


	17. Backwards

Chapter 17 – Backwards

*Freddie's POV*

Freddie waited anxiously for Sam at the kitchen table. He had been psyched when he 'won' the bet with Sam, but now it didn't seem like such a good idea. His palms were sweaty, his mouth was dry, and a few more leg spazzes and he'd have to call the doctor. It wasn't like he was nervous that he was going out on a date with Sam. More like he was nervous it was going to be the last date he would ever go on in his life. But hey, all's fair in love and war… right?

Wrong.

When Sam came down, she looked as miffed about this date as he was excited. She looked beautiful, of course, but her glare could shoot daggers. He smiled and stood up awkwardly, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Ready for the best night of your life?" He asked, trying to sound more confident than he was.

Sam sighed, and her glare seemed to soften a bit. "Let's just get this over with before anyone see's us."

Freddie grinned. "That's my girl." He said to himself as they walked out of the house. He let her walk in front for a while, until she realized that she had no idea where they were going and let Freddie take the lead. She kept an easy pace with him, but mainly walked with her arms folded as if she still couldn't believe that this was happening. Freddie had a whole shmuck of things lined up for tonight. It was going to be absolutely perfect. When he was little, he used to come to this beach with his parents, and he would explore everywhere. He had found places that no one had ever seen before. He only hoped that Sam liked them as much as he did.

First on the list, dinner. And we all know how well public meals have gone for them so far. Freddie had decided that the two of them and waiters don't really mix, so instead he had asked for a private outdoor table at a small restaurant called Carpe Diem_. It's ironic because me going on this date is sort of seizing the day…_

When they got there, the waiter led them to their table, and then closed off their small area as he left. They both sat down, and Sam begin scanning her menu to steer clear of small talk. Of course, Freddie was a big fan of the small talk.

"You know, you don't have to keep avoiding me."

Sam looked up and narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not avoiding you." She said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Come on, you haven't said anything the whole way here. What's wrong?"

She shifted uncomfortably, and then huffed. "What's wrong, is that this I'm being forced to go on this 'non- date' with a dork like you."

Freddie was a little stung, but he continued to talk anyway. "I didn't see anyone chaining you to my ankle and cattle-prodding you out the door." He muttered.

"But seriously, this whole date is a joke!"

"No it's not. I won the bet, remember?"

"You cheated!"

"I improvised."

"OH _come_ on."

Freddie laughed and then nodded his head a little. "Ok, Ok. I might have cheated just a little bit."

Sam scowled at him.

He shrugged. "Technically, it wasn't really cheating. Besides I don't see you complaining."

"I'm complaining right now!"

Freddie's grin evaporated when he realized she was right. "Oh."

Sam shook her head and mumbled something that sounded like 'idiot' before returning to her menu.

"I made you something."

Sam peered around her menu to see Freddie pull out a small clay swan with an 'S' engraved on its side. He had made it during their little pottery outing in the morning, and just asked the guy if he could fire it extra early. The guy who worked there didn't mind doing it; of course Freddie had to say it was for his girlfriend on their anniversary, but whatever. The swan was a little blobby he had to admit, but A for effort right? It's the thought that counts, made with love, all the rest of that romantic crap. Hopefully Sam would apply it to this creation.

Sam continued to stare at it in confusion, until she finally looked at him.

"What is that?"

"It's a swan!" Freddie said, a little hurt that it wasn't obvious at first sight.

"Why does it have a tumor on its head?"

"That's its beak…" His self esteem about clay-making was sinking lower and lower.

"Oh…" Sam finally mustered. She gave a hard look at the swan, and then looked back up at Freddie. Her blue eyes were filled with something, but Freddie couldn't make it out.

"Look Freddie…" Her head turned down as she struggled to get words out. "I don't know where you think this is going, but—"

He cut her off there. "Sam, relax. All I'm asking for is one night, and if you don't love me by the end of it," He paused for Sam roll her eyes, "then I promise I'll back off." He smiled as Sam continued to stare at him, thinking it over.

"Ok. But one night's all you get." Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her hair was a brilliant gold in the setting sun and her blue eyes were as clear as the sea. Freddie couldn't help but stare at her, transfixed yet again by her stunning appearance. A few minutes later Sam glanced up.

"What?"

Freddie shook his head. "Oh… nothing" He finished lamely. I _really have to stop zoning out on her like that…_

* * *

The dinner went exceptionally well, which basically meant that Sam had not tried to ditch him yet, so he must be doing something right.

After dessert, Freddie had quickly paid the check and then hurried Sam out the door of the restaurant. There was a place he was dying to show her.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked, and Freddie knew her curiosity was getting the best of her.

"It's a surprise." He said, trying not to give anything away.

Freddie wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulders. She looked at him and then said, "Yeah, right," before shaking it off.

"Fine." He sighed, holding out a hand for her.

Sam's face turned pink. "I'm not holding your hand!"

"Oh come on," Freddie laughed, "I don't have cooties, I promise."

"No." She said firmly.

Freddie thought for a moment, and then decided that walking next to her was enough.

They continued to walk in silence until they reached a small pond surrounded by trees all around. It was a public park, but almost no one was there except an old man who was leaving anyway_. Perfect_, he thought. It had taken him a while to set up this place, but he had asked an old friend who worked at this park to help him. Freddie kept walking up to the very end of small dock. There was a gazebo that sat there, practically in the middle of the whole pond. It was tiny and poorly lit by a small light bulb that hung from the ceiling.

"O.K." Freddie said proudly.

Sam looked around, clearly confused. "O.K. what, there's nothing here?"

"Wait, wait!" Freddie was itching to show her the surprise. He centered her in the middle of the gazebo and told her to wait there.

Running, Freddie made his way to the small shed near the edge of the pond. It was the powerhouse, and he searched around in the space until he found the switch he was looking for. He picked it up and pressed the button. Instantly, the whole pond lit up. There were lights that lined the entire area, hung on trees, and scattered in the grass. The gazebo was the last to light up, but when it did it looked almost like a Christmas tree. But without the trunk. Or the leaves. Or the… You know what, forget that analogy.

Sam's eyes widened as she took in the sight. She stood, mesmerized, as Freddie made his way back to the gazebo.

"Wow…" Sam breathed. "How did you…?"

"A friend of mine helped me set it up. Like it?"

Sam was to speechless to say anything so she just nodded, still staring in wonder at all the lights. Freddie watched as she stepped out to the edge of the gazebo to get a better view.

"It's amazing." She admitted finally. Freddie moved up so he was right next to her.

"Glad you like it." He almost whispered because they were so close. He inhaled deeply and then scent of Sam's perfume filled his lungs. He leaned in closer, but she stopped him.

"Wait." Their faces were inches apart at this point.

"What is it?" Freddie asked gently.

"I just… don't want you to get the wrong idea."

Freddie laughed a little."You _probably_ should have thought of that before we slept together…"

Sam blushed slightly before whacking him in the arm. "You know what I mean!" Her voice had an edge of amusement in it, but her scowl did not.

"Alright, alright. But at least let me walk you back home."

Sam sighed. "We live at the same house, dorkwad."

"Oh, that's right!" He beamed. Sam started walking ahead of him, so he caught up and walked a few paces behind her. He glanced at his watch and it said a little past 10. He wished they could have stayed in the gazebo forever, but he guessed that tonight was progress if nothing else.

* * *

"Well thanks." Sam said awkwardly as she stood in her doorway. Everyone else was asleep for some bizarre reason, but Freddie wasn't complaining. It was a blessing that they made it into the house without waking anyone up.

Sam turned to retreat to her bedroom, but Freddie took hold of her arm and pulled her back into the hallway. The minute she was facing him, he kissed her, not really wanting this night to end with 'Well thanks.'

Sam seemed shocked at first, but one of her arms wrapped around his neck as he pushed her gently against the wall. They kissed for what seemed like forever, only stopping momentarily for air. Finally, Freddie brought it to an end, pulling back and letting his arms slide out from around her. Even in the dark Freddie could see the light shade of red on Sam's face. At this point they were both breathing heavily, when a smile split across Freddie's face.

"We should do this again sometime."

He turned and started walking towards his room, leaving Sam (who was staring off into the distance with a an expression like "Whaaatt just happened…?") behind. He closed his door and shrugged out of his clothes, throwing on an undershirt and shorts to sleep in. He was almost too excited to sleep, and kept turning over one thought in his head.

_Best date, ever._


	18. Food Poisoning

Chapter 18 – Food Poisoning

*Sam's POV*

Sam was so excited for today it wasn't even funny. Today was the magical, glorious day that they were leaving this nightmarish vacation and going back to Bushwell Plaza in their comfortable home of Seattle. She could hardly wait to get back and as far away from the beach as possible. Maybe when they got home things would finally go back to normal.

After packing most of her clothes up, she sat down on the edge of her bed and ran her fingers through her hair. Work was hard_. I think I'll just grow up to be a homeless person_. She thought about it for a moment. _Either that or a prostitute…_ She sighed and then flopped down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. When she turned her head to the side, she saw Freddie's clay swan balancing on her dresser. It was partially cracked from poor craftsmanship, but the engraved 'S' stood out clearly on its side. It was kind of sweet…

Suddenly her door burst open so fast that she nearly jumped clear off the bed.

"Sam!" It was Carly's voice, and she sounded way too over-enthusiastic.

"Jesus, Carly you scared the living crap out of me!" Sam sat down on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath.

"Sorry…" She said noncommittally, "But I really have to talk to you!" She slammed the door behind her giving Sam the second heart-attack she's had within the past two minutes, and then bounced over to the bed and sat down next to her.

Carly opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when something caught her eye.

"What's that?"

Sam's eyes widened a little as she turned to see what Carly was staring at.

"It's um… a swan thing from the pottery place."

"Who made it?" Carly's brow was scrunched together in confusion.

"Uh… I did?"

Carly laughed out loud. "Yeah right! I saw you making your 'crater' there's no way you made that swan too."

"Oh, right well I didn't make it exactly, I… stole it." _Oh great Sam, let's add theft to the list of 'Reason's why Sam is terribly qualified for a friend.' _

"What!? Sam, you have to return that!"

Sam panicked, and quickly tried to backtrack. "Well… I stole it but the cashier dude said it was cool. The swan had been sitting at the store for like 3 years." She laughed awkwardly trying to shake any suspicion off.

"Well… O.K. If you say so." Carly still looked a little doubtful, but she shrugged it off. "Whatever, you will not _believe_ what I found out."

Sam's breathing caught in her throat as reeled her mind to remember if Carly had seen her and Freddie anywhere. Chances were, she probably had.

"What?" Sam tried to sound more interested than she was completely freaking out.

"I just saw Kayla and Devon together! They were all holding-handsy and walking down the street it was _So_ cute!"

"Oh!" Relief washed over Sam as she shook her head. _Thank God Thank God Thank God. _"That's great for them."

"Oh really, you don't mind that they're together?"

Sam looked up at her, confused. "No, why would I?"

"Hm…" Carly was playing with a loose string on the bed sheet. "No reason." She finished.

"Ok, then." Sam got up and continued stuffing the remains of her clothes into the large suitcase propped up against wall.

"Come on, let's go help Freddie and Spencer with the backyard. It has to be clean before we leave." Carly grabbed Sam's arm and started dragging her down towards the back door.

When they got to the backyard, both of them burst out into laughter. Spencer was lying on the ground soaking wet, and Freddie was so tangled up in the hose that he looked like he might suffocate.

"What happened to you losers?" Sam asked, partially not even wanting to know the answer.

"Well we were about to start hosing off the patio until water boy over here," He gestured over at Spencer who was lying down on the ground rubbing his head, "thought that we could get it done faster if he used a _hydra_-pump."

"What's that?" Carly was walking over to Spencer.

"It's a pump that pumps water out of the hose at like ten times the regular speed!" Freddie was angrily trying to pry the hose off from around his neck, failing miserably and resorting to just sitting there.

"Ah, hence the soaking wet brother and tied up technical producer." Carly giggled as she tried to help up Spencer. "Sam, go help Freddie."

"Why? Soon enough he'll bio-degrade and become part of the excellent fertilizer that keeps this backyard nice and green." She gave a snide smile, and Carly gave her a look.

"Sam, just go help him."

Sam huffed and muttered a, "Fine." before striding over to Freddie, who was still making last attempts at undoing the rope. She kneeled down and leaned over him, pulling his hands away from the rope.

"Lie still." She said as she bent over to try and pull at the rope behind his neck.

"Hmm… kinky." Freddie smiled, before Sam pulled the rope the rope around his neck tight.

"Okay, Okay… Kidding…" Freddie choked out, and Sam loosened the grip. He gulped in a few deep breaths, and then watched as Sam carefully untangled him from the rope. She was almost done pulling off the rope when she tried to lift it off him, but Freddie was lying with his hands under his head.

"Move, so I can pull this off." She said flatly. Sam was convinced that she was not going to let him affect her. No more of this charming nice guy act. Freddie was the dork, and she was the bully. That's the way it's meant to be.

"You know," He started, as he repositioned his arms, "You really should smile more often."

Sam stopped to look up at him. He was leaning on his elbows, with a grin on his face that made her heart ache. Or made her want to throw up. She wasn't sure which one…

"Sure, I'll add that to the list right after 'Get Good Grades' and 'Marry Gibby." She scoffed.

"Oh come on, just one little smile." Freddie reached over and started tickling her.

"No, stop…" Sam started to laugh. _Curse my microscopic tolerance for tickling!_ Sam doubled over as Freddie continued to tickle her.

"Stop, Freddie come on!" She tried to get out between laughing, but she was failing terribly.

"Huh, there's that smile I love." He said, laughing along with her.

Sam tried to push him away, but unfortunately for her he hadn't magically lost his strength overnight. It continued like that until Carly came out from the house and caught them in an awkward position.

"You guys ready to go?" Carly folded her arms, as she watched Sam push Freddie off her and struggle to her feet.

"Yeah, let's hit it." Freddie said as he stood up and started rolling up the hose.

Sam's face felt hot, as she trudged back into the house. _So much for the dork and the bully_. She walked over to the front door, grabbed her suitcase, and then walked hastily to the rental car. She had a sick feeling in her stomach, but she didn't know what it was. Freddie? Or food poisoning.

_Please for the love of all that is good and holy, let it be food poisoning. _


	19. The Right Moment

Chapter 19 – The Right Moment

*Carly's POV*

Carly lolled her head from side to side as she looked out the window. The car ride from the beach was the same distance as before, but somehow it felt longer. Spencer was dozing off at the wheel, which would normally freak her out but… it is Spencer we're talking about. If he could stay up to watch a Spongebob marathon than chances are he could drive for another five minutes without killing them all. Hopefully.

"No come on, I don't want to." Freddie was complaining about some game that Sam wanted him to play. Carly hadn't really paid much attention, but from what she heard Freddie was supposed to place his hand in front of his face and then try to pull it away before Sam hit it. Only Sam would make someone play a game like that.

"Get over it dork, we're playing." Sam pulled Freddie's hand up despite his groaning, and held it against his face.

"Ok now just try to move your hand before I whack it." Sam narrowed her eyes in concentration.

"Fine, but don't hit it so hard –"

_Whap!_

"Ow, Sam that hurt!" Freddie rubbed his face in annoyance, and folded his arms when Sam laughed.

"Geez, I barely hit you." She was still smiling, and Freddie looked out the window.

"Aww, is someone a wittle cwanky?" Sam reached up and pinched Freddie's cheek.

"Ha, ha." Freddie brushed her hand away, and then slumped down in his seat.

Carly was a little miffed at the fact that they were probably just putting on an act of hating each other. She wondered why she hadn't seen it before…

"You guys got any ideas for the next iCarly show? It's got to be really good because we've been on leave for a week!" Carly was going to try and subtly ask them if they were together, but she had no idea how to lead into it.

Sam was the first one with an idea. (Three guesses what it was.) "I think we should do something involving ham." She thought about for a few more seconds. "Or we can tie Freddie to a rope and whack him with a stick! We can call it 'Piñadork'!" She gave a snide look to Freddie, who stuck his tongue out in return.

"I think we should do something with Gibby. Like, we could do a double date skit," She was looking in the rearview mirror to see if she could get a reaction out of either of them. They both continued to stare out the window in silence.

"Umm… It could be really funny! Like we could have you two _pretend_ to be a couple, and me and Gibby _pretend_ to be a couple…"

Carly emphasized 'pretend', but there was still no reaction from either of them. Although she thought she saw Sam's eyes glance briefly over at her… but it was probably nothing.

"And both couples hate each other until the very end when they realize that they're really in _love_..."

Carly was so close to just screaming out 'Are you guys dating or what!?" but she tried to keep her cool even as the silence was deafening.

"What do you guys think?" She asked hesitantly.

Sam nodded without looking at her, and Freddie mumbled something like "Sounds good."

"Ugh." Carly sighed angrily, and then banged her head against the window in frustration. Spencer's head snapped up and he shouted, "We're not crashing, everybody calm down!"

Carly lifted her eyebrow at him, and he laughed awkwardly.

"Bad dream…" he gave himself a small slap on the side of his face, and then shook his head before re-focusing on driving.

* * *

*Freddie's POV*

"Look, there it is!"

Sam's voice broke Freddie's daydream, and he leaned over closer to her so he could see.

"Personal space, Fredwardo." Sam didn't turn to look at him. He realized that he was practically breathing down her neck, so he backed up a little. Just outside the window was Bushwell Plaza. _Home, sweet home._

They all went upstairs to Carly's, and Freddie said he'd be right there. Of course he'd have to stop to say 'Hi' to his mom, or else she was gonna freak. It would be like that time when he went out for Smoothies, and stayed five minutes longer because he had to use the bathroom. His mom had never let him forget that. You'd think he had taken a road trip to Vegas, and stopped to play poker. Ever since, Freddie knew better not to be late to anything involving his mother.

"Hey, mom." Freddie stopped near the door, knowing she would be all over him in about 5, 4, 3, 2…

"FREDDIE!" His mom came running into the hall, and smothered Freddie in hugs and kisses. As an afterthought, he realized that he would much rather endure years of physical pain from Sam, then any more hugs and kisses from his mother.

"OK, mom that's enough." He said flatly, rolling his eyes.

"OH my sweet, little Freddie." His mother cooed excessively. Freddie sighed, and waited patiently as his mom smoothed his hair out and then squeezed his cheeks.

"You look tan, Freddie! We'll have to rub some sun-screen lotion on you." She smiled as if that were the best thing in the world, and then began listing off a bunch of different things that they had to go through.

"Yup, sure mom…" He nodded and smiled as he slowly backed up towards the door. When his mom turned to go get a piece of paper, he slipped out the door and leaped into Carly's apartment before slamming the door shut. Breathing heavily, he looked at Carly.

"How did you know to leave the door open?"

Carly laughed. "Have you _met_ your mom?"

Freddie let out a deep breath, and then thanked her before going to the fridge to grab a root beer.

"Where's Sam?" He asked, after he had taken a few sips.

"Umm… I think she went upstairs to change." Carly looked over hesitantly, and then continued. "Look Freddie, I wanted to talk to you about something –"

"Man, I missed our studio!" Sam came bouncing down the stairs, and then over into the kitchen. She grabbed Freddie's root beer on her way to the living room, and then plopped down on the couch taking a few gulps.

"CARLY! You have to see this!!" Spencer's voice came booming out of his room, and Carly sighed.

"Oh boy, I better go check. Remember the last time he said that?"

Freddie vaguely remembered a few months ago when Spencer had set his fish on fire. Underwater. It was weird, and cool, and completely unnecessary all at the same time.

"Good point." He said, as Carly quickly made her way over to Spencer's room.

Freddie went and sat down next to Sam, taking his root beer back. She tried to look like she was about beat him up, but it was wasted on him considering he was still stronger than her.

"I licked all over the bottle." She smiled, resorting to grossing him out instead of fighting him for it.

Freddie laughed. "You know we've already kissed, right?" He took a few sips from the bottle, and then set it out of Sam's reach. "And much much more…" He narrowed his gaze at her, and Sam's smile was quickly replaced with a scowl. Instead she leaned against the arm of the couch waiting for Carly. Freddie watched as she yawned, and then ruffled her hair a little. He couldn't help thinking, _She is so ridiculously beautiful… _

Freddie suddenly wished he and Sam could be alone, without having to worry about Carly or Spencer popping in. (Which, let's face it, was pretty common around here.) He had been waiting for the right time to tell her how he felt. I mean, it was pretty obvious already, but Sam seemed to be avoiding it. Freddie had come to realize that she hides most of her emotions behind sarcasm and hitting people (mainly him), but lately she was acting like an actual person. Having feelings and getting upset like a normal human being. It suited her well. He could have told her he loved her when they were at the gazebo, which would have been a great moment except that Sam wasn't real thrilled about going on a date with him in the first place… So he was still waiting for a good moment, or a sign, or something that shouted 'This is your chance, take it!'

And at just that moment, every light in Seattle shut off.

_Now folks, if that ain't a sign from God himself then I don't know what is._


	20. Power Outage

Chapter 20 – Power Outage

* * *

***Sam's POV***

"What was that?" Carly walked over to look at the window, and Spencer rushed into the living room with a bat.

"NOBODY MOVE!" Spencer was darting around, looking for god knows what.

Freddie rolled his eyes. "Spence, what are you doing?"

He lowered his bat long enough to notice the three looks he was getting from Carly, Sam and Freddie.

"Are we being robbed?"

Carly groaned."By who, the electrician?"

"Uh… never mind." Spencer awkwardly tossed the bat back into his room, as if nothing happened. Sam and Freddie both laughed, while Carly continued to stare out the window in awe.

"Wow guys, all of Seattle is pitch black, come see this!"

Sam got up and started to go towards the window, making one last grab for Freddie's root beer. He quickly sidestepped however, and then wagged his finger at her.

"What's the magic word?" He said in a teasing voice. Sam sighed, indignantly.

"Please?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Please, _what?_"

Sam's blue eyes narrowed. "_Please _give me your drink, and I won't shove it up your –"

"Guys!"

"What!" They both said at the same time, turning their heads sharply to look at Carly. Carly folded her arms in discontent.

"Who started it this time?" She looked like an extremely disappointed mother, looking at her two hair-brain children.

Sam pointed at Freddie, until she looked over and saw that Freddie was pointing at her. Carly shook her head.

"Ok, forget it, just come see this."

They both walked over and stood on either side of Carly, looking out over the expanse of Seattle. Carly was right, almost every light in Seattle was out cold. It was actually really cool, barring the fact that a power outage meant field day for all the thieves in Seattle. Sam yawned after a few minutes, and headed back to the couch. Carly and Freddie both followed behind after one last look.

"Maybe we should do something to help with the power outage?" Carly suggested, without putting much emphasis into it.

Sam sighed. "We could… _or_ we could do something fun." Suddenly Sam had an idea, and she knew her face looked mischievous because Carly and Freddie were both frowning at each other.

"Sam, the last time you made us do something 'fun' we almost ended up in jail." Carly was looking more frightened as the minutes passed by.

"_Almost_," said Sam, raising an eyebrow.

Carly looked over at Freddie, who looked hesitant but finally asked, "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

***Freddie's POV***

"No, absolutely not!" Freddie struggled as he was being pushed out the door by Sam. He could probably get out of her grip, but decided not to.

"Oh come on Fredwardo, you were so up to it like five minutes ago!" Sam continued to urgently push him out the door, and he finally gave in.

"Fine…" He said grumpily. "Just, what do we have to do?"

Sam beamed a smile up at him, and he realized why it was no wonder he could never turn this girl down.

"The plan is simple. All we have to do is put these ski masks on, go through the front lobby, and pretend like we're going to rob Bushwell Plaza. Lewbert's gonna flip, and then Carly can catch it on tape for our next segment of iCarly!"

_Great, she makes it sound so easy… _Freddie's stomach was doing flip-flops. What had he gotten himself into? He could barely play a practical joke on Gibby without feeling bad. This was ten times worse than that.

"I don't know Sam, we could get in serious trouble for this-"

"Too late, you already agreed." She hastened their descent to the lobby, and then pushed him out the front door. After handing Freddie his ski mask, she slipped hers on and soon they were both unrecognizable to anyone but each other.

"Hmm…" Freddie looked Sam up and down.

"What?" She asked flatly.

"Criminal looks good on you Puckett…" He grinned and Sam whacked him on the back of his head.

"Focus, idiot." She rolled her eyes as he sorely rubbed the back of his ski mask.

"Alright, alright."

Sam grabbed Freddie's arm and dragged him across the parking lot, hunched over so that no one could see them. They continued to sneak around from car to car until they eventually stopped behind a dumpster that had a clear view of the Lobby. After a few minutes of waiting there, Freddie started to get anxious.

"Now what?" He asked, somewhat impatiently.

"Now, we wait." Sam replied smoothly.

Freddie bent down so that he was kneeling closely behind Sam. "Wait for what?"

"Carly's signal."

"What's the signal?" Freddie was leaning over so close that Sam elbowed him back a little.

"I forget, it was some kind of bird. Would you breathe through your nose please? I can't hear myself think." Sam whisper/yelled at him.

Freddie leaned back a little and started breathing through his nose, but his heart was still pounding. He didn't know if it was because they were about to stage a robbery, or because if he told Sam how he felt she would probably move out of state. Really it was a lose-lose situation.

"Look Sam, I've been meaning to tell you something… It's probably already pretty obvious but just in case you didn't know-"

Suddenly Freddie was interrupted when a shrill version of a parakeet came echoing throughout the parking lot. _Real_ covert. Sam did an imitation of the bird, and then it was show time. She stood up and turned around to face Freddie.

"You up for this?" She looked him straight in the eye to make sure he was actually ready. He was kind of upset that he didn't get to say what he needed to say, but he decided to let it go.

"Yea let's just get this over with before the police arrive." He said non-enthusiastically.

They both started heading towards the lobby, and then Sam burst through the door. Carly had made sure to time it right so there wouldn't be anyone in the lobby when it happened. Lewbert was sitting at the front desk, picking his nails with his fork (ew) when Sam ran in.

"This is a robbery, everyone down on the ground!" She yelled in her best mugger voice. Lewbert hadn't fully noticed she came in, but when he heard that he let out a crazy shriek as he fell onto the floor.

"Freddie you hold him down, while I steal something invaluable and completely useless!" Sam said, practically to the hidden camera itself. Freddie went over and pinned Lewbert to the ground while Sam darted into Lewbert's back office and grabbed something that looked like a juicer. Freddie was on the verge of bursting out into laughter, but he held it together. A few more minutes and they should be done with this sketch.

"Not my apple-juicer!" Lewbert yelled in a raspy voice. Sam looked confused.

"Apple-juicer?" She asked. Freddie shrugged and she shook her head. "Whatever, let's get out of here." Freddie got up and they both started for the door, but suddenly an alarm went off and the doors locked automatically.

"Not so fast." Lewbert had gotten up and pressed the emergency button that would contact the authorities. _Crap, I should have remembered that…_ Freddie thought. Lewbert grabbed a golf club that had been sitting behind his desk.

"You two aren't going anywhere." He said in a creepy voice. Sam looked over at Freddie, and he knew they were thinking the same thing. _This guy is a lunatic who could probably kill us. _Freddie acted quickly, because he knew they couldn't take on Lewbert with a golf club. Before Lewbert could swing, Freddie landed a kick to his stomach, knocking him back a few paces.

"Let's go!" Freddie ran towards the stairs, with Sam following close behind. They ran up a few flights before they could hear Lewbert's footsteps not far behind. _OK come on Freddie, think._ For some reason his brain was taking its time trying to find a plan.

"Follow my lead." He called over his back to Sam, who said 'Hurry up!' in reply. The next flight of stairs they climbed was still four below his floor, so they were going to have to try something else. When they reached the next floor, Freddie grabbed Sam's hand and pulled her around the corner so they were out of sight. He kept pulling her until they were hidden down one of the corridors of the hallway. Hopefully Lewbert would keep going without checking.

Unfortunately, Lewbert could hear when their footsteps ended, and he stopped on the same floor. He walked slowly down the hallway, holding his golf club up like a madman. Freddie put a finger to his lips as he motioned Sam to move back behind him. The next move he was going to make was stupid, and probably unnecessary, but it was worth a try. He only felt bad for the people in room 318 that were about to receive an unexpected guest. Before Lewbert got close enough to see them, Freddie knocked on the door that he was standing near. He heard someone inside yell 'Coming!' and he slowly let out a breath. Lewbert was only a few feet away. In a few steps and he would look to the right and see both Sam and Freddie.

"What are you doing?" Sam was completely oblivious to the plan he had going. Freddie continued to remain silent until Lewbert was in sight. The second he appeared, Freddie grabbed him by the collar of his uniform. The person who lived in room 318 opened the door and said, "Yes?" just as Freddie pushed Lewbert as hard as he could into the small apartment. The lady shrieked, and Freddie added a quick "Sorry!" before he shut the door.

"Quick, let's get out of here!" Freddie yelled as Sam started running towards the stairs. They both kept running until they reached Freddie's apartment, throwing the door open. He slammed it shut behind them and leaned against the wall. Both he and Sam were breathing hard.

"That was way too close." Freddie said, pulling his ski-mask off. He smoothed his hair out a little, and then stood up to face Sam who was staring at him. Her blue eyes were wide with what seemed to be disbelief, but this was Sam he was talking about. Before he had time to ask her what was wrong, Sam went over and kissed him. _Hard._ Freddie didn't know exactly where it came from, but he wasn't about to stop. He reciprocated her amount of force, and soon they were making their way to Freddie's room, stripping off a few of layers of clothing in the process. Unfortunately they had both dressed heavily for their act of crime, so it took a while before they were down to shirts. Sam pulled Freddie's t-shirt up off his head, and then continued kissing him, burying her hands in his hair. He could feel every inch of her body against him as he lay her down on top of his bed. Thank God his mom was at some 'Aggressive-Parenting' convention, or this would have been really hard to explain. Freddie slipped his hand under her shirt, sliding it up along her back. He left a trail of kisses from her mouth to her neck, leaving a sucking kiss at the base of her neck. He remembered last time that she really responded well to that. A small moan escaped her lips, and Freddie decided that meant keep going so he did.

"Wait." Sam pushed him back a little, and he looked confused.

"What's wrong?" He asked gently. Sam sat up on the bed, running a hand through her hair.

She sighed and looked over at him. "What are we doing?" She asked simply.

Freddie thought about it for a second. "Is that a trick question?" He asked sarcastically. Sam scowled at him and he apologized.

"Come on, I mean your mom could walk in at any second, or Carly could knock on the door, and we have school tomorrow. Besides I'm not doing this with you." Sam stood up and grabbed her jacket. "I _can't_ do this with you." She fixed her statement.

"Why not?" Freddie quickly stood up and walked to the door, blocking her exit out.

"Because I _hate_ you, remember? Or at least… that's what everyone else thinks. Do you know what kind of abuse we'd get it we suddenly started hanging out together, or holding hands or whatever?" Sam was clearly not enjoying the thought.

"Well we don't have to do that stuff." He said casually. Sam's blue eyes snapped up to meet his. She shook her head, confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

Freddie shrugged. "What if we… kept it a secret?" There was a long pause as Sam thought this through. Her eyebrows knit together as she scratched the back of her head.

"You mean like, not tell anyone that we're seeing each other." She seemed on the fence about the idea, but Freddie nodded.

"Yea I mean it's not like it's any of their business anyway." He said with a smile. Sam was still a little reserved.

"I don't know-" She started, but Freddie leaned down and kissed her. Not an intense, fiery kiss, just a simple passionate one. Although he had to stop before it turned into an intense one, but Sam looked a little more confident. She finally let out a disgruntled sigh.

"Ok, but we still have to act like we hate each other." She said in conclusion.

Freddie laughed. "Who said I'll be acting?" He grinned.

"Ha, ha." Sam muttered, before slinging her jacket over her shoulder.

"See you tomorrow at school, Puckett." He said in a mock-snobby voice.

"Whatever, Fredwardo." Sam shot back. Freddie watched as she opened the door, and then winked at him before she left.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that took like forever to update, I'd been working on some other stuff. Also my dog had some kind of surgery so we were all helping him get better. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter; I've always been a fan of secret relationships so I'm looking forward to having some fun with that. Feedback is LOVED. **


	21. Valentine's Day

Chapter 21 – Valentine's Day

*Sam's POV*

It was right there. Smack dab in the middle of the hallway for everyone to look at. Or laugh at.

Everyone knew Sam's reputation: who she was and what she was about. Flowers were _not_ what she was about.

She was going to kill him.

Carly walked over and stood next to her. She had a look of confusion on her face, but her mouth was turned upwards in a bubbly smile.

The card was also extremely noticeable. Big reddish construction paper with large curly letters printed on it.

"Hope you like these, sincerely, Your Secret Admirer?" Carly read the card aloud, only prompting the crowd around them to laugh harder.

Sam sighed heavily but had no reply. What was she supposed to say? Oh yeah my secret admirer is actually that geek who I've hated for… ever since I met him.

Great.

That conversation would go over real well.

So here she stood. Staring at the monstrosity glued (oh yes, did she mention that it was _Glued_) to her locker. That freaking idiot.

"Hey guys!"

And speak of the devil, Sam thought. She continued staring dead ahead at her locker.

"Wow, I_ wonder_ who that could be…" Freddie said in an all-too-cheerful voice when he read the card hung on Sam's locker.

Sam continued to stare.

"I have a few guesses who," She said under her breath.

"Really! Who?"

Sam jumped a little, forgetting that Carly was standing right next to her.

"Uhh…" Her mind scrambled for a quick getaway.

"It's probably that Mike dude, right?" Freddie said noncommittally.

Sam shot a look over his way.

"Yeah. Mike. That would be my guess."

Freddie nodded and then casually looked at the creation as if he didn't, you know, make it.

"Wow he really must like you-" Carly began to say but Sam cut her off.

"Freddie can I talk to you for a second?" She strained her voice to keep it even.

Freddie looked like he was about to protest so she grabbed his arm.

"Great, thanks!" She said loudly, while dragging him over to a secluded hallway. Even over there people were snickering when they saw Sam. She was wondering if they knew that she could hear them plainly talking about her 'Love Message' thingy.

"Beat it!" She gave a threatening glare to the kids in the hallway and they scurried away.

She turned and faced Freddie, her glare not quite dissipating.

"You call that _covert_!"

"What?"

"That _thing_ in the middle of the hallway."

"Oh."

"Oh? That's all you have to say!"

"Well it's Valentine's Day."

"So? It's not even a real holiday."

"It is to couples."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Sure it is."

"I'm serious!"

"Well you could have at least made it less…"

"Less what?"

"… Just less."

Freddie gave a lopsided smile. "Well at least I didn't say who it was from. It's _hard_ not telling people that we're dating."

"My sincerest regards."

Freddie tilted his head slightly. "Seriously."

Sam shook her head.

The bell gave out a shrill ringing, and in a few seconds the halls were sucked clean of kids.

"Fine, next time I'll make my present more '_covert_'."

Sam grabbed his arm again.

"What are you doing?" Freddie asked as she dragged him towards an abandoned janitor's closet.

"Showing you what covert means."


	22. Romeo and Juliet

Chapter 22 – Romeo and Juliet

*Freddie's POV*

_Ah, English class. _

"Hey, Sam"

Sam raised an eyebrow at him.

"'Sup Frubnub."

"Frubnub?"

"What?"

"That's the best you could do." Freddie smirked.

"Oh well give me a second and I'll come up with a better one." Sam said in a flat, uninterested tone.

Freddie sighed and shook his head while taking a seat on the other side of the room. He quickly glanced over and saw a hint of a smile on Sam's face.

"So, who wants to be our Romeo in Act 1 Scene 5 page…. Does anyone know where we left off?"

"Page 57, Mr. Skett."

"Ah yes, where Romeo first spots Juliet. Any volunteers?"

The teacher's voice cut through Freddie's thoughts like a knife. Was anyone seeing the massive light bulb hanging over his head?

Freddie's hand shot up in the air.

"Me!"

Sam scoffed. Everyone else stared in disbelief. No one had ever volunteered for these crummy act-outs, except for Alyssa that one time just because Mark was playing Romeo. But let's be honest, she just wanted to get into Mark's pants.

"O-Oh, well ok then Freddie front and center."

"Do I get to choose who plays Juliet?"

"I suppose, but it can't be someone who's gone already."

Excellent. With the irregularly small class of virtually no girls, that left… oh let's see...

"Sam."

"What." Sam mumbled from the back of the classroom, as she drew on a school copy of Romeo and Juliet.

"Uh, Miss Puckett, Freddie has chosen you to play Juliet in the next acting scene."

"What!" This time her voice came with a little more attitude. _That's my girl_, Freddie thought.

"Yeah, sorry you were the only one who hadn't volunteered yet." Freddie said with mock innocence.

"I'll bet." Sam said under her breath as she trudged to the front of the classroom. She sighed.

"O.K. so what do I have to do?"

"We're acting out this scene from the book, page 57."

"Uh-huh."

The kids in the classroom began chatting dimly as Sam flipped purposely slow to the page.

"Alright kids settle down. Now, Freddie will you please begin your line?"

Freddie cleared his throat.

As he took Sam's hand, a look of confusion registered on her face. She glanced down at the page again and then glared at Freddie.

"You chose this scene for a reason you dipwad!"

They had to whisper so the teacher wouldn't hear.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you-"

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand!" Freddie said the first line so loud that everyone jumped a little.

"This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch… with a tender kiss."

Instead of Freddie kissing her hand, he pulled her closer and kissed her straight on the lips.

There was a collective gasp from the students watching from the audience.

Sam by instinct started wrapping her arm around his neck, but immediately removed it when she remembered where they were. Freddie could feel her face getting hotter, but the more she tried to push him off the tighter his arm wrapped around her waist.

Soon enough he let go, only to have Sam take a few steps back. Her eyes were wide open, staring directly into her eyes.

Freddie had an underlying smile trying to fight its way out, but he kept a straight face. He turned casually toward the class, who all had an expression similar to Sam's, and took a deep bow.

To Freddie's surprise, it was the teacher who started clapping first. He thought for sure it would be one of the guys like Mark or Jacob.

"That was brilliant! Freddie, Sam, I didn't think you two had it in you!"

"Huh?" Sam's face went from shocked to confused in an instant.

"Your acting! The kiss! It was absolutely incredible!" He applauded again with more emphasis.

"That's it, nobody move. I'm going to talk to Mrs. Bellick and tell her immediately that she can stop looking for a Romeo and Juliet for the school play. We have found our star-crossed lovers!"

Mr. Skett scuffled from the room in a hurry, leaving Sam and Freddie at the front.

Sam scowled at him in that 'I am going to kill you later' look, and then jogged back to her seat. Freddie couldn't hide his smile now, as he walked back to his seat and plopped down.

_Mission: Accomplished. _


	23. Smile

Chapter 23 – Smile

*Sam's POV*

Sam rarely ever smiled.

When she was younger, people would smile at her, but look away before she had the chance to return it. Now whenever someone smiled at her she wouldn't even bother returning it, knowing they were about to look away anyways. Unfortunately that had changed recently…

Freddie constantly mentioned how much he loved her smile. He would look over at her in class and grin, trying to get her to smile. The first few times he did that she made no change to her facial expression. However, Freddie was persistent, and began making weird faces to get her to smile.

She cracked and was unable suppress a small smile from creeping onto her face, and now it had become more of a regular thing. Now when people smiled at her she at least gave a half-hearted smile at best. Granted, no one at school ever smiled at her randomly except Freddie.

Until today.

It was a freak accident (as Sam deemed it), which probably could have been avoided if it hadn't been for Freddie telling her to smile more. _That idiot_.

A guy from their grade walked by (Sam couldn't remember his name, nor did she care) and smiled at her. The gesture was so unexpected that Sam, by accident, smiled back.

Big mistake.

The guy stopped, and turned making his way over to her. She cursed under her breath and started to walk faster, until she realized that she was at her locker and had to stop.

"Hey!" Random guy from their grade said.

Sam sighed heavily and turned to the guy who had spoken. He was a fairly tall guy with spiky hairdo and virtually no muscle. He almost reminded her of… like a pencil with funky eraser at the top.

"Hey…" She said awkwardly back. She waited patiently for the guy to speak, quickly running through a list of possible excuses she could give to turn him down without making it seem like she was dating anyone else. Although, one look at this guy and girls would understand why she turned him down. Guys too probably…

"The name's Joshua." He said in an all-too-confident tone and stuck out his hand to shake Sam's. Sam looked at his hand before taking it in an uncomfortable fashion and shaking back.

"I'm late for my next class." Sam said only partially lying. She was late for something, but it wasn't class.

"Oh all right, well I'll be brief then!" Joshua set down his bag on the floor and began frantically searching for something in the front pocket. When he grasped it he let out a sigh of relief. Sam was a little nervous at what it was…

He held out a piece of paper, as his face held a large, goofy grin. Sam hesitantly took the paper and looked at the writing. It had his name "Joshua McGrady" on the front, and underneath it was his number in the same font only smaller. His smile never left his face as he continued to talk.

"I'd like to ask you to the school dance Sam Puckett." He sounded very professional when he spoke, but Sam hardly noticed. _Back up, who was this freak and how did he know my name?_

"Have we met before or something, because I don't ever recall telling you my name." Sam said, partially to herself.

Joshua laughed a big, hearty… fake sounding laugh. Sam kept a weirded-out expression on her face, and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to leave. The more time she spent here the less time she had for… lunch.

Finally Joshua settled down and began to speak again before she had a chance to sneak away.

"Yes Sam Puckett, we have met before many times. I have been in almost all of your classes since kindergarten. What is your answer?"

_You're a creep_, was her real answer, but she had no legitimate reason to flat out turn him down, without revealing that she was dating someone else.

"I'll uh… sleep on it."

"Mm, in that case I should have given you myself to sleep on." He said, in what Sam guessed was his 'seductive tone'.

That was probably the worst line she'd ever heard, right up there with Spencer's "I'm a sculptor so I'm really good with my… _hands_" line.

"Yeah-huh…" She said awkwardly as she walked away. She shuddered at how much of a creep that guy was, and then slowly made her way to the second story of the school. As she walked down the empty hallways she silently cursed herself for not asking for more specific directions to where she was going. Freddie had left her with a vague "Meet me on the second floor" note, leaving any number of places he could be.

As soon as she was about to give up, she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her into the small eraser room that was situated in the east hallway. Since lunch was in session it was likely that no one would be entering the room anyway. The door shut behind her, and almost instantly she was backed up against it, Freddie's lips moving against hers.

She continued to kiss him back until they both stopped for air, Freddie moving to Sam's neck as she caught her breath. He left a trail of kisses leading up towards her ear, and nipped at a spot behind her earlobe. The room wasn't very soundproof, so Sam had to bite her lip to keep a groan at bay. Freddie sustained his attentions to that spot until her hands were fisted in his hair so hard she thought she might rip some of it out. If it was hurting him, he showed no signs of pain as he slowly kissed her cheek, then her lips again, leaning back slightly and smiling at her.

"Hi there." He finally said.

Sam rested her hands on his shoulders and smiled slightly, not trusting herself to speak just yet.

"How was your day," Freddie kissed her in between each word.

"On a scale of 1 to 10? I'd say a 5." She finally answered, trying not to show how much of an effect he'd had on her.

"Hmm…" Freddie looked disappointed. He leaned in and kissed her again, this time running his tongue along her teeth. She opened her mouth slightly to give him more access, immediately regretting that decision when she was unable to keep a moan from escaping her chest. He pulled back and smiled.

"How about now?"

Sam waited for her breathing to calm down yet again. "Maybe a 6 ½ now…" She said slowly. Freddie still looked dissatisfied.

"Well that's not going to work," He said, his voice laced with amusement. Before she could voice her protests, Freddie kissed the spot on her neck he knew would have the greatest effect. Sam was biting her lip so hard she was surprised it wasn't bleeding already. He continued to adorn that spot when she finally couldn't take it any longer.

"OK, ok! It's a 10 Freddie, my day no longer sucks anymore!" She pleaded. He chuckled and pulled back to look into her eyes.

"That's better." He gave her a big smile and sat down in the only chair that was in the room. He pulled her down to sit in his lap, and Sam went willingly, resigning herself to the fact that it was useless to try and resist. She hooked an arm around his neck and looked at him as he stared into her eyes.

"So what's wrong, why was your day so bad? Before me that is..." He added with an amused smirk. Sam rolled her eyes and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, before backtracking into a frown.

"Well this really creepy guy asked me to the dance and-"

"Wait, what?" Freddie's voice sounded shocked and miffed at the same time. She laughed inwardly at how jealous he could get sometimes.

"It's nothing, it's just this random guy who would have never even given me a thought if it wasn't for _someone_," she stopped to jab her finger into Freddie's chest, "telling me to smile more often."

"So he just asked you to the dance? What did you say?" Freddie was trying to hide his jealousy behind genuine curiosity but it was fooling no one.

"Well I said… I'd sleep on it." She cringed a little at her own answer. Freddie's eyes widened slightly with shock.

"Wait, you're not actually considering going with him are you?"

"Come on, think about it Freddie. It will be good for our cover if I go out with him, throw people off the tracks a little. They'll think that I'm not dating anyone seriously, and we get to continue with this," she gestured at the two of them, "without being ridiculed for the rest of our lives." Freddie thought about it for a second before looking back to Sam who had a hopeful expression on her face.

It wasn't that she wanted to go out with Joshua McLoser, but lately people have been noticing something off about her and Freddie.

Carly especially seemed to be picking up on something. Just the other day she walked in on Sam and Freddie right before they kissed and Sam had to improvise by flicking Freddie in the eye and telling him to use mouthwash if he was going to breathe that close to her.

The school dance would be the perfect opportunity to erase any of Carly's suspicions.

Freddie frowned, and wrapped his arms around her waist tighter.

"But I don't want to share you with anyone else." He pouted and she gave a small laugh.

"Relax it will be a onetime thing only." She paused, and that as an afterthought added, "If you want we can meet up after the dance someplace?"

Freddie smiled and leaned in to kiss her but she dodged it and gave him a serious look. Freddie frowned again but finally nodded in consent.

"Ok, I have to go I have class. Don't look so depressed." She joked, and leaned over to kiss his cheek, but he reacted quickly, turning his head and catching her on the lips. She tried to pull away slightly, but his hand found the back of her head and kept her closer in. She finally managed to pull out of his grasp and stood up, slightly wobbly.

"I'll see you later." She smiled, taking a few deep breaths before opening the door. After a glance to both sides, she deemed the area clear, and left the room.

* * *

Freddie sat in the room for a few more minutes. He thought of another guy smiling at Sam, holding her hand… His jealousy reared its ugly head again. He got up and left the room, clenching his hand a few times out of frustration.

_Time to find this Joshua guy_, he thought bitterly.

* * *

**Ok, now I know the ending sounds like Freddie is gonna beat Joshua up or something, but let's be real here: it's Freddie we're talking about lol. Also a few people asked if the Romeo and Juliet play is actually going to happen, and it is indeed going to happen so get ready! It's just not going to happen until I can find an interesting way to portray Shakespeare's writing in a story without me or the readers falling asleep XD. JK props to Shakespeare lovers . Hope you guys liked this chapter, review please so I can find out what I'm doing wrong!**


	24. Vanilla and Chocolate

Chapter 24 – Vanilla and Chocolate

*Freddie's POV*

Freddie kicked the side paneling of the door before wincing in pain and taking a few steps back. His afternoon had pretty much sucked. He had spent the better part of the rest of school looking for this Joshua guy who'd had the _nerve_ to ask Sam out to the dance. First he couldn't find the guy, and then he couldn't find Sam, and then the Janitor had this whole episode where he suddenly thought Freddie was his 'long lost son'. _That was awkward_ Freddie thought as he heaved a sigh of disappointment.

Good news? He found out where Sam was: detention. Bad news? Sam was in detention right now.

The fact that he didn't get to see her only amplified his bad mood. He wouldn't be surprised if people looked up and gasped at the storm cloud hovering over his head.

The door abruptly opened and a smiling, bubbly brunette answered the door.

"Freddie!" Carly giggled as she ushered him in. Freddie reluctantly walked in, smiling slightly and then flopping down on the couch. No offense to Carly, but he really wasn't in the mood for bouncy.

"What's up?" He feigned interest as he flipped on the T.V. and turned the channel to Hell's Kitchen. Sam had told him that she liked this show a lot. After watching a few minutes he realized why. He chuckled inwardly at how Sam _would_ like a show like this: Someone who verbally abuses/scares people into cooking good food. _Classic Sam. _

Carly had been rambling for some time now, Freddie only vaguely catching the last part of her story.

"…and keep in mind that this guy is totally older than me, so I'm just like 'Dude, there's no way I would ever go out with you'!" Carly laughed as if what she was saying the most interesting piece of information anyone had ever heard.

"Freddie, are you even listening?"

Freddie snapped back to reality, looking over at her quickly.

"Of course I am."

"No you're not, that's your lying voice!"

Freddie raised an eyebrow. He seriously doubted she knew what his 'lying voice' was or else she would have figured out why he and Sam were late to all of their iCarly meetings…

"Ah, you caught me." He said with mock regret. Carly shook her finger at him and smiled.

"See, I know you better than you think." She said in a condescending voice. Freddie gave her a hesitant smile and shrugged.

"Guess so…"

It was silent for a few minutes so Freddie turned his attention back to the T.V. He heard Carly open the fridge and take something out.

"Want some ice-cream Freddie?"

Freddie gave another sigh before answering. What he really wanted was to A: Find this Joshua McGrady kid and beat the crap out of him, B: Show the Janitor a picture of his actual Dad so there was no confusion, and C: Go to sleep snuggled up against his nice, warm girlfriend.

_Like any of that is going to happen._

First of all he can't beat up Joshua because he was too scared of losing and looking like an idiot, second of all he doesn't want to show the Janitor a picture of his Dad because that's creepy, and third Sam wasn't really the snuggling type. Although one time when they did get to have a "sleepover" because Sam's mom was out of town, Sam told him that she woke up and couldn't get out of bed because he had her in a death grip. Freddie just grinned and told her that it was a sleeping habit, but really it was that Sam was really comfortable to cling to when he slept.

"Yea I guess. What flavors?"

"I have Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, and some kind of Rocky Road Mix thing."

"Chocolate." Freddie said flatly. Carly looked over surprised.

"Really?"

Freddie gave her a look of confusion. "Yes, why?"

"Nothing, I just thought you liked Vanilla."

"Why does it matter?" Freddie didn't mean to sound rude, but he was having a pretty terrible day.

"Well Vanilla's the best of course."

Carly said it in such a matter-of-factly tone that Freddie couldn't hold back a scoff.

"Are you kidding me? Vanilla is one of the worst ice-cream flavors."

"What!" Carly practically shrieked. "Vanilla is amazing! Besides if you say you don't like Vanilla, that's practically saying you don't like me."

She winked at him and he smiled uncomfortably back. She scooped out two bowls of ice-cream, walked over, and handed Freddie the chocolate one before sitting down on the couch next to him.

"Hey do you know where Sam is?" She asked turning to face him.

Freddie cringed inwardly at the mention of Sam not being here. Just a reminder of the main reason he was unhappy right now.

"Yea I think she has detention." He said, trying not to let his discontent show through.

"Oh, but I thought detention ends at like 5. It's 5:10…"Carly's voice trailed off as she reached for her phone and sent a text message to Sam.

Freddie was silently rejoicing at the fact that Sam was finally out of detention and on her way back. He tried to act uninterested, but he couldn't help but glance at Carly's phone every few seconds. Sure enough, a few seconds later a small vibration echoed throughout the room as if there was no other sound to hear.

Carly read it and then nodded to herself. "Oh good she says she's on her way up the stairs. Maybe we could all watch a movie?" Her voice sounded hopeful but Freddie had to nip that one in the bud.

"Ah, I just remembered that I have a project to do with a friend about uh...the revolution." He finished lamely.

Carly tilted her head slightly in confusion, but before she could ask any questions Freddie headed for the door.

"Sorry Carly, maybe some other time!" He waved goodbye while closing the door, and exhaled a sigh when he got out. Moments later, Sam turned the corner and looked up at him in surprise.

"Oh, what are you doing out here? Carly says she wants us all to watch a mov-"

"Text her and tell her you can't come!" Freddie blurted out as he walked over to her.

"Why? Watching a movie could be fun –"

"If I have to listen to Carly any longer I might _volunteer_ for detention. Plus I haven't seen you all afternoon!" Freddie pouted like a kid and Sam looked at him with confusion. He knew he was being a little dramatic, but he wasn't lying at all.

"Ok Freddie calm down, we don't have to –"

"What's your favorite flavor of ice-cream?" Freddie's eyes locked on hers eagerly, as her brow drew down in confusion.

"My favorite flavor of ice-cream?" Sam repeated as if she'd misheard him somehow.

"Yes!"

"Chocolate, why –"

Before she could finish her statement Freddie wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a big bear hug. She struggled to catch her breath as he squeezed her tighter.

"Thank God." He gave a breath of relief.

"Freddie…Air…" She choked out. As his arms released their grip slightly, she took in a deep breath but it was soon stolen away when Freddie met her mouth with his. She was unresponsive at first, but as Freddie deepened the kiss she seemed to catch up and was soon meeting his lips with an equal amount of energy.

When he finally stepped back, Sam's breathing was too ragged to form any words and Freddie took that as the perfect opportunity to abduct her. She looked at him curiously (as he was sure he had a mischievous glint in his eye) and before she could react he picked her up by the waist, her upper body hanging behind his right shoulder. He easily opened the door to his place (unlocked because he had left it like that when his mom said she was working overtime) and carried her into his apartment ignoring her objections.

"Freddie, put me down!" Her voice sounded hysteric, but it had a slight edge of amusement. "We have to at least tell Carly we're not coming!"

"That can wait." Freddie said in a pleased voice as he kicked the door shut.


	25. Stage Setup

Chapter 25 – Stage Setup

*Sam's POV*

It was kind of like Christmas.

Lots of boxes that they had to open, piled up in front of them. Although Christmas wasn't work… and there was usually a tree involved… and most importantly, you didn't know what was in your 'presents'.

Unfortunately for Sam, she did know what was in these presents. Lots and lots of furniture. And not the nice already-put-together kind, the boring do-it-yourself kits that had manuals in 8 different languages, of course none of them being English. Life had a funny sense of humor sometimes.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate this?" Sam sighed, overcome at the amount of work in front of her.

"At least twice." Freddie grinned at her impatience, and leaned over to grab the pair of scissors before slicing open another box. Sam shot him an icy glare.

"Well let me mention it again." She said flatly. "I hate this."

Freddie kept the grin on his face, stopping his work to watch her silently. Sam heaved a sigh in misery, and kept trying to decipher the Spanish version of one of the manuals. She had never paid much attention in Spanish class, and was now sorely regretting that.

"Maybe I can make it worth your while?" Freddie said with a smirk, leaning in towards her.

"No way!" Sam shouldered him off and Freddie laughed.

"Why not?" He whined, the smile not leaving his face.

Sam glared at him, which unfortunately made no difference at all. Freddie barely even cringed, causing Sam to be inwardly disappointed. She made a quick mental note to try and be a more abusive girlfriend.

"It's your fault we're in here at all! If you hadn't of pulled that incredibly dumb stunt in English class and got us roped into this Romeo and Juliet play, then maybe you _could_ have been making this afternoon 'worth my while'." She grinned, knowing by the look on his face that Freddie regretted getting them into this mess.

"But you didn't, and for that you will be punished." Sam said flatly before returning to the manual.

"What's the punishment?" He asked with amusement.

Sam rolled her eyes when she heard the edge in Freddie's voice. _Pervert_ she thought bitterly.

"No… _physical_ stuff until we're done with every single piece of furniture."

Freddie chuckled at her statement and she turned to look at him, unable to keep a small mixture of annoyance and confusion from reaching her face.

He began slowly walking over to her until he was within a few feet. Sam quirked her eyebrows at him and hesitantly took a step back as Freddie continued his frontal assault. After she took a few more steps, her stomach dropped slightly as she felt a wall behind her, stopping her retreat.

Freddie placed one hand by her head and leaned in closer to her. He kept moving in until she could feel his hot breath tickling her ear. He was inadvertently teasing her willpower, as he moved so close that she could just barely feel his cheek brush against the side of her face.

"Freddie wait we're –. . . someone could see us."

Her voice trailed off as she caught the very familiar scent of light cologne that he used. Sam cursed herself when she realized that she had bought that cologne for him a long time ago as a joke. _The joke's on me_ she realized numbly as Freddie let another hot breath roll over her chilled skin.

"Better get to work then." He whispered into her ear as he smiled at her reaction. Sam growled angrily before pushing him out of the way and returning to her manual. She secretly hoped he hadn't seen the small flicker of disappointment that flashed across her face.

She turned to see him smirking slightly, and realized that he had.

"Idiot." She muttered.

* * *

*Carly's POV*

Carly watched as the second hand on the clock marched slowly back towards the number 12.

It was odd how the most uninteresting things could become suddenly so fascinating at times of complete and utter boredom. She sighed as the second hand completed its journey, and then began again, as it had for the past 46 times.

She rolled over on the couch, pushing some of her hair out of the way in the process. This had to have been the most boring day she'd had in a while. _Where are my two best friends? Hell if I know! Not like they'd bother telling me anyways,_ she thought angrily as the clock made a soft 'ding' marking the start of seven o'clock. She groaned and got up to walk over to the fridge, only to be disappointed when nothing looked appetizing.

Carly made her way over to the door and exited her apartment before walking across the hall to Freddie's. She had done this process at least twice already, and knew how it ended. She would knock on the door, no one would answer, and she would go back unhappy and bored again.

It surprised her when someone opened the door this time.

"Oh. . .you." Freddie's mother rested her unsettling gaze on Carly, who suddenly wished she was back on her couch again.

"Ah, Ms. Benson!" Carly gave a hesitant smile and tried to look as if she wasn't scared. Unfortunately, Ms. Benson was still a little hostile about the whole "Freddie saving her life" episode that happened a while ago.

Ms. Benson crossed her arms. "What do _you_ want?"

Carly laughed nervously and made up a quick lie, although she was unsure why her mind picked this one.

"I uh, left some homework in Freddie's room from our last study group. I was hoping that I could get it back?"

The silence hung in the air as Ms. Benson narrowed her eyes at Carly in suspicion. Carly kept a slightly broken smile on her face as she waited for judgment.

"Fine, but be quick. Freddie isn't home and I don't want you to mess up his room while he's gone." She put venom into her words, making it clear that Carly was not welcome here unless Ms. Benson wasn't home. Carly scurried in and walked straight to Freddie's room, not even bothering to take of her shoes.

To her relief, Ms. Benson didn't watch scarily from the Freddie's doorway, instead choosing to remain in the kitchen. If Carly were to hazard a guess, she would say that Freddie's mom was cooking dinner.

Carly walked around the room and examined some of the stuff in Freddie's room. It was typical, mostly guy stuff except for the iCarly-related things he had. Some AV equipment, an iCarly shirt, one of the awards from a web show convention that they had gone too . . . nothing too important.

She sighed as she realized that being in the room of one of her friends wasn't going to bring her any closer to them. _And_ it was just as boring as it was back at her place.

She was about to leave (for she was sure Ms. Benson had a timer going from the moment she walked in), until something caught her eye.

In the corner of the room on a nightstand, was a shiny silver bracelet with a charm hanging from the center of it. Now ordinarily Carly would have disregarded it, but this bracelet looked particularly familiar.

The design, the shape, the color. . . Carly had bought this. Her eyes narrowed as she picked up the small piece of jewelry, rolling it between her fingers in thought. Yes, Carly realized it was the same one she had gotten about a year ago.

But there was no way it was the exact one, because she had given that bracelet to. . .

Carly's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Oh my god." She breathed.

* * *

*Sam's POV*

"Would you push harder already!"

"That's what she said."

"Oh, that's real mature Freddie."

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." Freddie chuckled.

Sam resisted the urge to hit him as she pushed desperately hard on the leg of the table they were assembling. The leg moved slightly before settling back into a slant, making Sam huff in disappointment.

Freddie looked at the table in pity, and scratched the back of his head. "I don't think we're doing it right." He finally said.

Sam had a deadly calm look as she slowly turned her head to face him.

"Really?" She asked with heavy sarcasm.

Freddie frowned and then looked at the manual again.

"Yea, I think we might have to take it out and turn it about. . . an inch before it will fit in place correctly."

Sam scoffed before grabbing the manual and looking at herself.

"Sure we can do _that_. . . if we want a lopsided piece of crap as our table!"

"It won't be lopsided, it will be perfectly straight!"

"No it won't! And you can have the wonderful honor of telling Mr. Skett that you screwed up his table for the play." Sam smirked at him and he shook his head and grinned.

"Fine, but we're still trying it."

Sam waved her hand in a 'whatever' gesture as Freddie got to work. She sat down and leaned against the wall, not bothering to help him. A few minutes later she was shocked to find an eerily straight table sitting in front of her.

"There." Freddie said proudly.

Sam shot him a look and stood up to inspect the piece of furniture. She kicked the leg he had fixed, partially hoping it would break, only to be mildly upset when it stood its ground. _So much for my carpenter skills_, she thought absently.

"I suppose this is. . . mildly impressive. For a dork," She finished with a vengeance, not allowing Freddie to have any pride over his accomplishment.

"This coming from the girl who's dating," Freddie pointed to himself, "the dork." He grinned and Sam scowled at him. She'd had an unnecessarily tough day today, without having to put together a bajillion pieces of furniture, and wit was the last thing she needed from Freddie.

"Yeah, whatever." She walked over and began to open the second to last box, ripping the manual from its taped area and opening it to glance at the pages.

She was slightly shocked when she felt Freddie's nose nuzzle up against her neck. He took a deep breath and Sam felt a little heat enter her cheeks.

"You always smell so good." Freddie groaned in a mixture of agony and longing. Sam was about to say something before she felt Freddie's lips just barely touch her skin. He began leaving a light trail of kisses leading up her neck. Sam attempted to ignore these and continued reading until he hit a sensitive spot behind her ear, causing a tiny moan to escape her mouth. She pulled away and looked at him sternly.

"We need to finish."

Freddie quirked his eyebrows and looked around the room in mock confusion.

"Finish what?" He asked, a small grin beginning to form on his lips.

Sam frowned at him and pointed to the two boxes they had left. "Finish those –"

"Hmm, I don't see anything there." He cut her off, not even bothering to look where she pointed. Freddie wrapped his arms around her waist started on her neck again, leaving a mixture of kisses and nips trailing over the pulse point. Sam tried to speak several times, but failed as all that escaped her mouth was ragged breathing and an occasional gasp as Freddie continued the exquisite use of his tongue.

Freddie quickly got up and walked over to the door, locking and hearing a satisfying click before returning to Sam. Before she could protest, Freddie flipped her onto her back causing her to (much to her dismay) squeal like a 4-year-old. She frowned as Freddie laughed, but didn't have time to get mad at him before his lips met hers in an eager rush.

The last thing she remembered hearing was her phone vibrating somewhere in her bag, with the familiar ringtone ID she had set for her best friend.

_Carly's call will have to wait_ she thought as she wrapped her arms around Freddie's neck in defeat.


End file.
